Published
Jun 14, 2022
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Indian Jute Mills Association seeks government support to revive industry

Published
Jun 14, 2022

The Indian Jute Mills Association has asked the Union Government for financial and social support to revive the industry and enable it to grow and protect the livelihoods of workers in the industry. 

Jute can be used to create sustainable alternatives to plastic - Jute Products Development and Export Promotion Council- Facebook


“The jute sector seeks government support to tap advantages under schemes like affordable rental housing complexes, creation of bank credit facilitation scheme for modernisation, and funds for research and development,” the IJMA’s director general Debasish Roy told the Press Trust of India. 

In order to attract and cater to migrant workers, the Bengal jute industry wishes to construct labour colonies close to the jute mills. According to the IJMA, the majority of jute mills have sufficient land within their colonies to house such projects. However, they need help funding the construction and other related costs, which according to the IJMA, the pre-existing government ARHC scheme could help with. 

The IJMA also stated that jute mills are facing credit unavailability because they are not classed as micro, small, and medium enterprises. Numerous mills wish to avail loans to garner funds to modernise their operations and the IJMA suggested that the National Jute Board provide 100% credit guarantees to banks for such loans. 

The jute sector has strong potential for growth as the government is working to ease out single use plastic in retail and jute bags can replace plastic bags. The IJMA aims to research ways to capitalise on the potential of the jute industry to help it grow sustainably. This is also important to safeguard the livelihoods of the lakhs of workers in the jute industry, from farmers to factory workers, according to the IJMA. 

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