Sericulture in India : Types of Silk and Its Production in India

• Silk is an insect fibre, with lustre, drape and strength. Because of these unique features, silk is known as the “Queen of Textiles”, the world over. 

• India with the production of 34,903 MTs of silk is the second largest producer of silk in the world after China and also the largest consumer.

• India is the only country, which is producing all the four commercial varieties of silk, namely Mulberry, Tropical & Oak Tasar, Muga and Eri.

• Among the four varieties of silk produced, Mulberry accounted for 73.97% (25,818 MT), Tasar 4.20% (1,466 MT), Eri 21.10% (7,364 MT) and Muga 0.73% (255 MT) of the total raw silk production of 34,903 MT.

• Bivoltine raw silk production has increased by 17.07% to 7941 MT during 2021-22 from 6,783 MT 2020-21.

• Further, under Vanya silks, Tasar production has reduced by 45.48% during 2021-22 over 2020-21, main reason for this is adverse climatic conditions and erratic rainfall during crop season. 

• The major silk-producing states in the country are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. 

• Karnataka contributed around 32.3% of the total silk production in the country during 2022-23. This was followed by Andhra Pradesh which had a share of 26.0% in the overall silk production during 2022-23.

• Bankura, Kolar, and Jamnagar have historically been important centers for silk weaving and production.