8th India International Silk Fair Inaugurated
The 8th India International Silk Fair was inaugurated by the Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani. The fair was inaugurated virtually.
Key Points
- India International Silk Fair is the biggest silk fair in India.
- The 8th India International Silk Fair will be conducted for 5 days virtually due to COVID-19.
- The fair is being organized on the virtual platform of the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council.
- Over 200 overseas buyers have already registered for the fair and approximately the same number of their representatives in India will interact with over 100 big and renowned Indian companies engaged in the manufacturing and trading of silk and silk blended products.
Silk Industry in India
- India is the second-largest producer of Silk and has a long history of silk production.
- India is the world’s only country that produces all the four major varieties of silk – Eri, Mulberry, Muga, and Tassar.
- Approximately 97% of the raw mulberry silk is produced in 5 Indian states- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and West Bengal.
- Tamil Nadu is an emerging producer of silk where mulberry silk cultivation is concentrated in Erode, Salem, and Dharmapuri districts.
Indian Silk Export Promotion Council (ISEPC)
ISEPC is a non-profit organization established in the year 1983 under the Companies Act. It is sponsored by the Government of India in the Ministry of Textiles. The council works with the government to form policies related to the silk sector. At present, it has 981 regular exporters of Silk as members. However, over 1800 exporters have registered with the council.