Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani on Friday affirmed that India would become 'completely self-sufficient' in silk in the next two years.
She said that in the production of silk, India is second after China.
Irani was addressing a programme organised by business chamber FICCI.
She also said that technical textiles is the future of textiles and that she was keen on taking it forward.
Egyptian cotton exports increased during the third quarter of the agricultural season 2018-2019 to 510,200 metric quintals compared to 160,100 metric quintals during the corresponding period of the previous season, a rise of 218.8 percent owing to the increase of cotton production, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced.
Egypt's economic ministers takes a move to encourage domestic industries to purchase Egyptian cotton as well as support local farmers by giving approval to raise the subsidy for spinning companies (Private and state-run) to purchase abundant Egyptian cotton to become LE350 per quintal instead of LE200 ahead of harvest season in September. This was announced the ministry of, industry, trade and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in a statement on Tuesday.
Cotton sowing is almost half of the normal sowing which was done last year as farmer were able to completed sowing on some 45.2 lakh hectares of cotton growing region of the country as opposed to 92 lakh hectares last year, which is the worst situation ever for the cotton crop in the last five-six years, moreover due to delayed and scanty rainfall has caused anxious moments for farmers, said SM Kolkatkar, director, Cotton Development Board, Mumbai, and Directorate of Cotton Development.
University of Calcutta has developed genetically modified (GM) jute. The genetic modification by gene sequencing can produce the required quality and varieties of jute like the longer fibres and different colours. The GM jute has been forwarded to the regulator, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) for commercial approval.
GM jute will become the second crop of its kind to get approval, after the GM cotton which was approved in 2002 for commercialization
