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Jute, the golden fibre, has an edge over expensive fibres because of its biodegradable character and availability at a comparatively low price. Today, jute is looked upon not only as a major textile fibre, but also as a raw material for manufacturing products, which help protect the environment and maintain the ecological balance. India is the world’s largest and biggest producer of raw jute and jute goods. It has an average production of over 1620 thousand tonnes of jute goods per annum with an average export of 200 thousand tonnes with earning of Rs. 7500 million.
Out of the eight 1akh hectares land under jute cultivation in India, approximately 73 percent is in West Bengal. This is about 5.8 lakh hectares. Almost 80 percent of India’s raw jute is produced in West Bengal. Approximately 40 lakh farmers are engaged in jute cultivation. Of the 78 jute mills in the country, 61 are situated in the state. A total of 2.4 lakh industrial workers and 5 lakh traders find gainful employment in the jute sector, and last but not the least out of 1154 jute diversified products manufacturing units situated in the country 696 units are in this state. Thus it is no exaggeration to say that the problem of jute industry is essentially the problem of the agro-industrial climate of West Bengal.
Jute industry is confronted with hundreds of problems. There are problems of modernization, product diversification, labour unrest, problems created by the mill owners and so on. In this scenario the unveiling of the National Jute Policy will help a lot in resolving the problems faced by the industry.
The preamble of the National Jute Policy states: The National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the Government, recognizing the importance of jute to farmers and workers, and to the economy of jute growing states, and its special ecological importance worldwide, resolved “the jute industry will receive a fresh impetus in all respects”.
One of the six basic principles of governance for the NCMP is “ to enhance the welfare and well-being of farmers, farm labour and workers, particularly those in the unorganized sector and assure a secure future for their families in every respect”. As already stated, Jute has a special place in India’s economy, providing sustenance to more than 40 lakh people including jute farmers, workmen, labourers and self- employed artisans and weavers, especially in the Eastern and North-eastern parts of the country. World over, it has been recognized that jute and allied fibres occupy a unique position as eco-friendly, biodegradable renewable natural fibres with substantial value addition at each stage of processing. Government also recognizes the fact that this important sector of the economy has not been given its due importance in the recent past.
In view of this commitment the National Jute Policy says that it would be the policy of the Government to develop a strong and vibrant sector that can ensure remunerative prices to the jute farmers in the country; produce good quality fibre and products to meet the growing needs of the country and international buyers. The sector would increasingly contribute to sustainable employment and the economic growth of the nation; and compete with confidence for an increasing share of the global market.
The policy also states that the target is to enable millions of jute farmers to produce better quality jute fibre for value added diversified jute products and enable them to enhance per hectare yield of raw jute substantially. It seeks to facilitate the Jute Sector to attain and sustain a pre-eminent global standing in the manufacture and export of jute products; to enable the jute industry to build world class state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities in conformity with environmental standards, and, for this purpose, to encourage Foreign Direct Investment, as well as research and development in the sector. The aim is to sustain and strengthen the traditional knowledge, skills, and capabilities of our weavers and craftspeople engaged in the manufacture of traditional as well as innovative jute products. The policy has put thrust on making information technology, an integral part of the jute industry to make it internationally competitive and viable. The policy declared at the target is to increase the quantity of exports of jute and jute products by 15 percent per annum. While declaring the Jute Policy the Union Textiles Minister Shri Shankersinh Vaghela announced that the aim of the National Jute Policy is to take exports to Rs 50 billion by 2010 from the existing Rs 10 billion. No doubt it is a difficult task. Still it is not impossible if the policy is implemented in the right earnest.
The policy laid immense importance on modernisation of the jute industry. There is no doubt that the jute industry is facing competition from the synthetic sector, high labour cost, age old machinery and its economically unviable working. All these factors have converted it into a sick industry. When this is the situation, the policy says that the approach for the jute sector will be directed towards reviving the jute economy through supportive measures covering research and development; technology upgradation; creation of Infrastructure for storage and marketing of raw jute; and product and market development activities for jute and diversified jute products. For survival of the jute industry the reservation policy for the packaging of food grains and sugar will be continued. However the Government from time to time will review the quantum of reservation. The major highlight of the policy is the creation of the National Jute Board, which will subsume, merge and integrate the functions of the various institutions currently operating in the jute sector. The government is also exploring possibilities of setting up a National Institute Of Natural Fibres, which would help jute farmers in the country produce better quality jute fibres for value added diversified jute products. Apart from that, Jute Technology Mission, approved earlier by the Planning Commission, will be operationalised to make the jute sector as an intrinsically competitive and integrated entity.
Overall it is expected that the new policy would help the ailing industry recover itself and create a vibrant economic atmosphere.
*Information Assistant, PIB, Kolkatta
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