Union Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita inaugurated a newly constructed Grainage Building and Cold Storage facility at the CSB-Silkworm Seed Production Centre in Rowriah, Jorhat, Assam. The state-of-the-art facility, established under the North-East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS), has an annual capacity to produce 30 lakh Disease-Free Layings (DFLs) of mulberry hybrid seed and preserve up to 1 crore DFLs. This infrastructure is designed to ensure timely availability of quality silkworm seed and enhance seed production efficiency in the region.
The Minister emphasized that quality silkworm seed, modern infrastructure, technology and skill development are vital for a productive and sustainable sericulture sector. He highlighted Assam's significant contribution to India's silk production, noting that the state contributes approximately 79% of India's Muga silk and 74% of Eri silk production. During 2026-27 (April-July), Assam recorded raw silk production of 9 MT of mulberry silk, 2131 MT of Eri silk and 73 MT of Muga silk. The broader North-Eastern Region recorded 142 MT of mulberry silk, 3 MT of Tasar silk, 2890 MT of Eri silk and 87 MT of Muga silk during the same period.
The sericulture sector generated employment for approximately 29.50 lakh persons during 2025-26, demonstrating its significant livelihood potential. The Minister highlighted the region's strong potential in Vanya silk production and noted that initiatives such as Mission Senehjori can help transform Muga silk into a high-value global product. He stressed the importance of entrepreneurship and stakeholder collaboration to enhance farmers' productivity and create rural livelihoods.
As part of the inauguration program, an interactive Seri-Stakeholder Meet was organized to facilitate engagement with stakeholders and deliberate on issues concerning the sericulture sector. Progressive sericulture farmers were felicitated, and P1 Disease-Free Layings were directly distributed to sericulture farmers. Certificates were also presented to trainees who successfully completed training under the Ministry of Textiles' flagship Samarth Scheme.
The upgraded facility is expected to strengthen the regional sericulture value chain, generate employment opportunities, and create business opportunities for local suppliers and traders, thereby contributing to the socio-economic development of sericulture farmers in Assam and the North-Eastern Region.