To promote the silk industry, the Government has approved continuation of the Catalytic Development Programme (CDP) with an outlay of Rs. 889 crores in the 12th Plan period (2012-17). The scheme will help generate direct and indirect employment for 9.24 million people by 2017.
“The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the continuation of the Centrally-sponsored scheme of CDP of the Ministry of Textiles relating to the sericulture sector during the 12th Plan period,” said an official statement.
An outlay of Rs. 889 crores has been earmarked for the scheme with continuing the funding pattern of 80:10:10 for Central, State and beneficiary in special status States (North-East States as well as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand).
The core objective of the scheme is to scale up production, particularly that production of quality, bivoltine and improved cross-breed silk cocoons in the country through the cluster approach. The programme supports stakeholders in operations ranging from food plant cultivation to marketing of products in mulberry, tasar, eri and muga silk. Technology absorption, investment generation, productivity improvement and employment creation form the basic objectives of the programme.
The Government has set a target of about 39 per cent growth in silk production during the Plan period. “The scheme would catalyse the efforts of States to achieve total production of 32,000 metric tonnes (MTs) of silk, representing an increase of about 39 per cent over the 11th Plan production, with a specific target of achieving production of 5,000 MT bivoltine and 6,000 MT improved gradable cross-breed mulberry silk (2A/3A grade and above silk for consumption in powerlooms) by the end of 12th Plan,” the statement said.
CDP, which comprises three major industries – mulberry, vanya post-cocoon – has been redesigned to meet the sectoral requirements and to ensure that the sector grows at a healthy pace.
“Some of the existing components of CDP have been deepened/modified by taking up certain additional inputs, and also certain new interventions have been proposed in order to meet the zonal requirements,” it added.
A new component ‘Special Initiatives (Flexi Fund)’ has also been proposed to address the critical requirements for implementation of sericulture projects.