The Minister of Textiles,
Shri Kashiram Rana, has said that the Government is committed
to protect the jute manufacturers through Minimum Support Price
(MSP) operations and other policy interventions. Speaking at the
meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to
his Ministry, Shri Rana said that the MSP for TD-5 grade of jute,
grown in Assam, was fixed at Rs. 850 per quintal during the jute
year (July 1st to June 30th) 2002 – 03 as
against Rs. 810 during the last jute year. (The Government guarantee
for Rs. 33 crore to the Jute Corporation of India (JCI), the official
agency undertaking MSP operations, for the availing of bank credit).
During the current year Jute Corporation of India (JCI) started
MSP operations from July and up to December 9, 2002 11 lakh bales
of raw jute was procured.
Shri Rana informed
the members that the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use
in packing Commodities) Act 1987 (JPM Act) was aimed at protecting
the interest of the jute farmers, jute workers and the jute industry
and enabling the jute industry to modernise and become competitive.
However, the jute mills did not seize this opportunity and used
the law to continue supplying only B-Twill and A-Twill bags. Technological
upgradation, product upgradation and product diversification by
the jute industry were inadequate. He reminded the members that
the jute packaging material started losing its importance and
market share to other substitutes like synthetics.
The Minister told
the members that an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), consisting
of Ministers of Agriculture; Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution; and himself, was constituted to go into all aspects
of compulsory packaging, including the interests of jute sector
and the end-users. The IMC felt that in order to make the jute
industry more competitive, the protection given to the jute industry
under the JPM Act should be diluted and that the jute sector needed
to be modernised and diversified. The Government decided not to
repeal the JPM Act at this stage and prescribed the compulsory
packaging norms for the current year and next year. It was felt
that the various food procurement agencies and other end-users
might be able to save substantial amount of money, if they were
given a choice in packing material.
Shri Rana informed
the meeting that the Government has strengthened the Jute Manufactures
Development Council (JMDC), a statutory body under the Ministry
engaged in implementing market promotion activities particularly
in the export markets, further by providing for increased collection
of cess through an amendment of the JMDC less Act. The increased
resources would enable the Council to implement the newly launched
Capital Subsidy Incentive Scheme for modernisation of the jute
industry. The Minister also told the members that the export of
jute goods during the period April 2002 – October 2002 was valued
at Rs.505 crore as compared to Rs.354 crore during the corresponding
period last year registering an increase by 43 per cent.
