The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval to expand the scope of mandatory packaging norms under the Jute Packaging Material (JPM) Act, 1987.
It is as follows:
The CCEA approved that 100 percent of the food grains and 20 percent of the sugar shall be mandatorily packed in diversified jute bags. The decision to pack sugar in diversified jute bags will give an impetus to the diversification of the jute industry.
Initially, 10 percent of the indents of jute bags for packing foodgrains would be placed through reverse auction on the Gem portal. This will gradually usher in a regime of price discovery.
Impact
The decision will give a fillip to the development of jute sector; increasing the quality and productivity of raw jute, diversification of jute sector and also boosting and sustaining the demand for jute products.
This is important considering the fact that nearly 3.7 lakh workers and several lakh farm families are dependent for their livelihoods on the jute sector, the government has been making concerted efforts.
The jute industry is predominantly dependent on the public sector, which purchases jute bags valued at over Rs 6,500 crore every year for packing foodgrains. This is done in order to sustain the core demand for the jute sector and to support the livelihoods of the workers and farmers dependent on the sector.
The decision will benefit farmers and workers located in the Eastern and North-Eastern regions of the country, particularly in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura.
Govt measures to support jute sector
In order to improve the productivity and quality of raw jute through a carefully-designed intervention, called the Jute ICARE, the Government has been supporting close to one lakh jute farmers by disseminating improved agronomic practices, such as line sowing using seed drills, weed management by using wheel-hoeing and nail-weeders, distribution of quality certified seeds and also providing microbial assisted retting.
These interventions have resulted in enhancing the quality and productivity of raw jute and increasing the incomes of jute farmers by Rs 10,000 per hectare.
In this connection, to support jute farmers, Jute Corporation of India (JCI) has been given a grant of Rs 100 crore for two years starting from 2018-19 to enable JCI to conduct minimum support price (MSP) operations and ensure price stabilisation in the jute sector.
With a view to support the diversification of the jute sector, the National Jute Board has collaborated with National Institute of Design, and a jute design cell has been opened in Gandhinagar.
Further, promotion of jute geo textiles and agro-textiles has been taken up with the state governments, particularly those in the North-Eastern region, and also with departments such as the Ministry of Road Transport and the Ministry of Water Resources.
With a view to boost demand in the jute sector, the Government of India has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on the import of jute goods from Bangladesh and Nepal with effect from January 5, 2017.
As a result of these measures, 13 twine mills in Andhra Pradesh resumed operation, benefiting 20,000 workers. Further, the imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty has provided scope for an additional demand of 2 lakh metric tonne (MT) of jute goods in the domestic market for the Indian jute industry.
With a view to promoting transparency in jute sector, Jute Smart, an e-government initiative was launched in December 2016, providing an integrated platform for procurement of B-Twill sacking by government agencies. Further, the JCI is transferring 100 per cent funds to jute farmers online for jute procurement under MSP and commercial operations.
