■ SILK INDUSTRY
◇ India produces all five known commercial varieties of silk – mulberry, Tropical tasar, Oak tasar, Eri and muga ( of which golden yellow muga silk is unique to India).
◇ Total silk production amounting to 17% of the world’s population, ranks india’s as second largest producer of raw silk, next to china.
◇ Tasar, eri and muga are collectively called Vanya (wild) as these silks are mostly the products of the forests.
◇ Tasar silk is produced in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, MP, Bihar and parts of odisha where it has great potential to enhance livelihood of people.
◇ The oak tasar culture is now practised in the sub-himalayan state like Manipur, HP, UP, Assam, Meghalaya and J and K.
◇ Eri silk ranks first among non-mulberry silk production and is mostly produced in hill tracks of the north-eastern states besides some parts of Bihar, WB and odisha.
◇ Mugas silk – Also known as Golden silk is exclusively found in Assam and is distributed in the Brahmaputra valley.
DISTRIBUTION OF SILK INDUSTRIES
□ Karnataka
◇ Foremost silk producing state in India.
◇ It produces only mulberry silk accounts for over 50% of mulberry silk of the country.
◇ Mysuru, Bengaluru, Kolar, Mandya, Tumkur, Belgaum and Kodagu district.
□ West Bengal
◇ Produces about 13 percent of country’s total silk, most of which is of mulberry variety.
□ Jammu and Kashmir
◇ Has its main silk textile centres in Anantnag, Baramula, Jammu and Udhampur districts.
□ Jharkhand
◇ Ranchi, Palau and Hazaribagh are important producers.
□ EXPORTS
◇ The Indian silk is demanded in American, European as well as Asian markets.
◇ The USA, UK, Russia, Saudi arabia , Kuwait and Singapore are major importer of silk products.
◇ The tough competition with Italy and Japan caused a setback to exports.