Lok Sabha Question No. 238 (STARRED), answered on 2018-12-27
Subject: Norms for Mandatory Packaging
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: RENUKA BUTTA

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION  NO. *238 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27/12/2018

## NORMS FOR MANDATORY PACKAGING

## *238.  SMT. BUTTA RENUKA:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंरी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has recently extended the norms for Mandatory packaging in jute material;
- (b) if so, the details of the products that fall under the mandatory norms;
- (c) the action the Government proposes to take for their effective implementation; and
- (d) the number of Twine Mills which have resumed operations in country, particularly in Andhra Pradesh?

## उत्तर ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंरी ( श्रीमती स्मृ तत ज़ूबिन इरानी )

MINISTER OF TEXTILES (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a) to (d) :A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d)  OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *238 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27/12/2018.

- (a): Yes Madam. The Government of India has extended the norms for mandatory packaging in  jute  material  with  effect  from  30 th November,  2018  (till  30 th June,  2019)  for  the  jute  year 2018-19.
- (b) : The present order stipulates the following percentage of commodities to be packed in jute packaging material for Jute year 2018-19:

| Commodity   | Minimum percentage to be reserved for packaging in Jute   |
|-------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
| Foodgrains  | 100% of the production*                                   |
| Sugar       | 20% of the production**                                   |

The level of reservation recommended by the Government in the past three years has been as follows:

| Order date   | Year    | Sugar   | Foodgrains   |
|--------------|---------|---------|--------------|
| 14.01.2016   | 2015-16 | 20%     | 90%          |
| 09.03.2018   | 2017-18 | 20%     | 90%          |
| 30.11.2018   | 2018-19 | 20%     | 100%         |

(c):

- (i)         For effective implementation of the above decision, Government has mandated that :-
-  Procurement  of  jute  bags  for  packing  of  foodgrains  through  the  GeM  portal  shall  be initiated on trial basis. To begin with, 10% of the indents shall be placed by the State Procurement Agencies (SPA) through reverse auction on the GeM portal. To the extent jute mills fail to supply through the GeM portal bidding within the permissible 30 days, the  Ministry  of  Textiles  will  allow  upfront  dilution  of  mandatory  packaging  norm. Allocation formula for the Production-cum-Supply Orders (PCSOs) will be modified to incentivize participation of jute mills in the GeM portal.
-  In  case  of  any  shortage  or  disruption  in  supply  of  jute  packaging  material  or  in  other contingency/exigency,  the  Ministry  of  Textiles  may,  in  consultation  with  the  user Ministries  concerned,  relax  these  provisions  further,  up  to  a  maximum  of  30%  of  the production of foodgrains over and above the provisions.
-  If the Procurement Agencies do not place indents for jute bags to pack foodgrains as per supply plan prepared by the Department of Food & Public Distribution and bunching of demand (indents) takes place then the jute mills will get reasonable additional time for the  supply  of  jute  bags.  However,  if  the  mills  fail  to  supply  the  bags  in  the  extended period, the conditions relating to dilution will be applicable.
-  To ensure that persons engaged in production of raw jute & Jute Packaging material are benefitted  from  the  mandatory  packaging,  a  suitable  mechanism  will  be  devised  for enabling payment of statutory dues to jute workers and prompt payment to jute farmers and balers on procurement of raw jute. The mechanism will include obtaining periodical certification  from  the  Labour  Department  of  the  State  Government  concerned  on statutory payments to workers and self-certification from the mills on prompt payment for raw jute supplies.

(ii)  With effect from 1 st November, 2016, activities for procurement of jute bags are performed by O/o Jute Commissioner, a subordinate office of this Ministry. O/o JC has developed an endto-end  web  based  platform  for  procurement,  inspection  and  dispatch  of  jute  bags  which  is transparent, rule based, simple to use.

(iii)    For  effective  implementation  of  JPM  Act,  1987;  Central  Government  has  also  issued  an Order dated 16 th June, 2015 delegating powers under Sections 6, 7 and 8 of JPM Act, 1987 to District Magistrates or Collectors or Deputy Commissioners of all the Districts in India and SubDivisional Magistrates or Sub- Divisional Officers of all Sub-Divisions of all Districts in India. This Order also gives power to Jute Commissioner, Joint Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Food, Deputy Jute Commissioner, Deputy Directors of the O/o Jute Commissioner and Chief Director (Sugar).

(d): After the imposition of Anti-dumping duty w.e.f. 5.1.2017, an additional demand of 2 lakh Metric Tonnes has been generated in the domestic market for the jute industry, which has led to the reopening of more than 10 Jute Twine Mills located in Andhra Pradesh, benefitting 20,000 workmen directly and indirectly.

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