(a) whether Government is considering for developing Bhagalpur Silk industry in Bihar; and
(b) if so, the steps taken in this regard?
(a) whether Government is considering for developing Bhagalpur Silk industry in Bihar; and
(b) if so, the steps taken in this regard?
MINISTER OF TEXTILES( SHRI SHANKERSINH VAGHELA)
(a) & (b) Apart from the Catalytic Development Programme of the Central Silk Board
envisaging all round development of silk industry and under which Central Silk Board has released Rs.106.27 lakh, Rs.38.30 lakh and Rs.88.99 lakh respectively during 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 to the State of Bihar for use in various silk centres including Bhagalpur, the following specific projects have been running in Bhagalpur aimed at development of silk industry :-
i) Basic Seed Multiplication and Training Centre to cater to the tasar basic seed requirement;
ii) Raw Materials Bank for Tasar to provide raw material to poor tribals;
iii) Demonstration-cum-Technical Service Centres for propagation of new technology; and
iv) Textile Testing Laboratory for providing testing services on quality improvement.
In addition, Central Silk Board (CSB) is implementing the special SGSY project for the development of tasar and eri silks in Bihar with financial assistance from the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India in coordination with an NGO viz. PRADAN. The project has been drawn at a total cost of Rs 1440.583 lakhs for implementation over a period of four years between 2003-04 and 2006-07.