Lok Sabha Question No. 1880 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-28
Subject: Export of Jute
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: BAHADUR SINGH KOLI

## EXPORT OF JUTE

## 1880.   SHRI BAHADUR SINGH KOLI:

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

- (a) whether  the  export  of  jute-made  commodities  in  the  country  was  continuously  declining during the last three years due to which jute industry was badly affected;
- (b) if so, the steps taken by the Government to assess the decline and the outcome thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has formulated any scheme to promote jute industry; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER वस्त्र      मंरी (श्री अज      )

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES (SHRI AJAY TAMTA)

- (a) & (b): The  year-wise  exports  of  jute  goods  and  foreign  exchange  earned  during  the last three years are presented below:-

| Particulars                                          |   2013-14 |   2014-15 |   2015-16 |
|------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Exports of raw jute &jute goods (Value: Rs. Million) |   24284.4 |   22418.4 |     38013 |
| Exports of jute goods (Value: US$ Million)           |     402   |     367   |       581 |

The following export promotion initiatives are implemented through the National Jute Board (NJB):-

- (i)  Support is given to Registered exporters facilitating participation in export promotion events.
- (ii)   Participation in product-specific fairs and participation of jute product exporters is organised.
- (iii)  Research Studies are conducted to identify new and potential markets.
- (iv) Industry led market exploratory missions / delegations are undertaken.

Besides,  there  are  Market  Development  Assistance  (MDA)  /  Market  Access  Initiative  (MAI)/ Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)/ Market Linked Focus Product Scheme (MLFPS)/ Duty  Drawback  Schemes  of  Ministry  of  Commerce  which  are  also  being  availed  by  the  Jute exporters.

- (c) & (d): The Government has taken several initiatives for promotion of the jute industry. These include:
- (i) The Jute Packaging Material (Compulsory Use in Packaging Commodities) Act, 1987 (JPM Act) has  been  enacted  in  the  interests  of  production  of  raw  jute  and  jute  packaging  material, and  of  persons  engaged  in  the  production  thereof. Accordingly,  as  per  the  Schedule  of Notification No. S.O. 126(E) dated 14.1.2016 issued under the JPM Act, stipulates the minimum percentages of total  production of commodity or class of commodities that are required to be packed in jute packaging material manufactured in India and raw jute  produced in  India. The same  has  since  been  extended  for  3  months  till  30 th September,  2016  vide  Notification  No. 2224(E) dated 28.6.2016.
- (ii) A pilot  project Jute-ICARE (Jute Improved Cultivation and Advanced Retting Exercise) has been launched in January, 2015, in selected Blocks of West Bengal and Assam where jute cultivation  is  popular  to  improve  income  of  farmers  through  both  increase  in  yield  and improvement in quality of fibres. The project is being implemented by NJB in association with Jute  Corporation  of  India  Ltd.  (JCI)  and  Central  Research  Institute  for  Jute  &  Allied  Fibres, (CRIJAF), and Ministry of Agriculture.
- (iii) A Jute Design Cell for development of Jute Shopping Bags and Lifestyle Accessories has been set up at the Innovative Centre for Natural Fibres (ICNF) of National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad.
- (iv) A scheme for setting up of Common Facility Centres (CFCs) has been launched in September, 2015 for providing support to Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs) on training, infrastructure/ machinery and marketing to artisans  in development of Jute Diversified Products in 7 WSHG clusters; 5 in West Bengal and 1 each in Assam and Bihar.
- (v) National Jute Board (NJB) is implementing an ' Incentive Scheme for Acquisition of Plant and Machinery' (ISAPM) which was started in 2013-14. The objective of this scheme is to facilitate modernisation in  existing  and  new  jute  mills  and  upgradation  of  technologies  in  existing  jute mills.  The  scheme  also  envisages  providing  assistance  to  a  large  number  of  entrepreneurs  for manufacturing of value added biodegradable jute diversified products as well as modernisation and  upgradation  of  technology.  The  incentive  is  provided  at  20%  of  the  cost  of  machinery acquired by Jute Mills and units in the decentralised sector. The overall ceiling for each unit is Rs.2.50 crores in 4 years.
- (vi) Assistance is provided to jute mills for establishing sanitation facilities under Workers' Welfare Scheme to provide hygienic sanitation facilities for mill workers.
- (vii) A scholarship scheme for educational support is implemented by NJB, to motivate the family for acquiring higher education by their children.
- (viii) For  Promotion  of  use  of  Jute  Geo-textiles  (JGT)  in  Civil  Engineering  applications  like  slope stabilization  management,  rural  roads  construction,  river  bank  protection,  etc.  support  is provided under the Scheme for Geotextiles in North Eastern Region.
- (ix) NJB implements Retail Outlet scheme which supports supply chain and bulk supply of JDPs for selective and  mass  consumption.  The  scheme  aims  at  providing  assistance  to jute entrepreneurs for opening of outlets of jute lifestyle jute products in Metro Cities, State capitals, District  HQs  and  Tourist  spots.  The  support  is  limited  to  50%  of  initial  decoration,  monthly running expenditure for a period of three years
- (x) National Jute Board had taken several research initiatives during the Jute Technology Mission [2007-13]. Techno Economic Feasibility Study was conducted to enable the commercialization of successful R&D efforts. These studies were conducted by commercial agencies of repute and the completed reports are being passed on to the interested entrepreneurs.
- (xi) Jute Raw Material Bank (JRMB) scheme The scheme has been designed to make jute raw material available to the small and tiny artisans / entrepreneurs locally at mill gate price, suiting to the present requirement and sustainability of the decentralized JDP sector in the country.

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