India is likely to reduce importing silk from China in the eleventh plan by establishing giant reeling units, interestingly with the help of made in China reeling machines.
For the first time in the country, two giant Automatic Reeling Units (ARUs)-made in China, are being set up in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Ten other units will be established in the country during the Eleventh Plan, said Central Silk Board (CSB) member secretary M Sathiyavathy.
Of the proposed ten units, three ARUs- two in Karnataka and one in Tamil Nadu – would be set up during 2008-09, she added.
These giant reeling units can reel around 700 kg of cocoon per day to produce around 35 tonne of silk a year, she said. The ARUs are mainly aimed to encourage the farmers involved in quality bi-voltine production.
To run ARUs successfully in longer term, she said the CSB has been trying to introduce contract farming in sericulture in the region where ARUs were established.
The CSB has set a target to increase the bi-voltine silk production to 5,000 tonne per annum by the end of the Eleventh Plan from the current 1,200 tonne in 2007-08.
Each unit costing around Rs 3 crore would attract Rs 50 lakh subsidy from the CSB, said CSB chairman H Hanumanthappa. He also said the state governments should also offer the same amount of subsidy to encourage the entrepreneurs to set up such ARUs in the country.
Currently the state governments are offering subsidy of around 25% of the total investment on ARUs.
Hanumanthappa said the CSB would make representation to the Planning Commission during mid time proposals to allot funds for another 50 ARUs to be set up in the Eleventh Plan period itself in the country.
Currently India produces around 18,000 tonne of silk against the demand of 26,000 tonne of silk while importing around 5,500 tonne from China to bridge demand-supply gap, he said. The ARUs would reduce import from China in the coming years, he added.