Union Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh on Sunday, 20 September announced that India's silk production has surged from 26,000 metric tonnes in 2014 to 42,000 metric tonnes today, with the government targeting the country's position as the world's largest silk producer by 2028-29. The minister made the remarks while inaugurating the 77th Foundation Day programme of the Central Silk Board in Bengaluru, alongside an exhibition of silk products and technologies.

Production Targets and Farmer Income Goals

The Centre has set an ambitious target to scale up silk production to 60,000 metric tonnes by 2030-31. Singh outlined that this will be achieved by boosting mulberry leaf yield and increasing cocoon-rearing cycles. He added that the government aims to raise farmers' annual income to ₹10-12 lakh through these measures.

Singh stressed that innovations by scientists, hybrid silkworm varieties, and modern machinery must be made directly accessible to farmers at the grassroots level — a key bottleneck in past sericulture expansion efforts.

Global Opportunity as China's Output Declines

The minister noted that international demand for Indian silk is rising, particularly as China — the world's current leading silk producer — sees a decline in its own output. Singh identified strengthening the value chain from sericulture to weaving, expanding India's textile market to $300 billion, and ensuring minimum economic security for weavers and workers as central priorities for the sector.

This comes amid a broader push by the Centre to position India as a global textile powerhouse, with silk serving as a high-value export segment with growing international appeal.

Karnataka's Role and MSME Push

Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shobha Karandlaje highlighted that Karnataka leads the country in silk production. She said the government is focusing on infrastructure, industrial growth, and high-density production methods to bring domestic silk up to global export standards, reduce imports, and accelerate domestic output.

Karandlaje added that entrepreneurs are increasingly registering under the MSME framework, supported by government subsidies and quality improvement schemes — a trend officials say is helping formalise the largely unorganised sericulture sector.

Technology Integration and Key Announcements

Padmini Singla, Joint Secretary (Silk) at the Ministry of Textiles, said high-yielding silkworm hybrids and advanced machinery are being introduced alongside artificial intelligence (AI), GIS, and machine learning technologies to inspect quality and boost production capacity.

The Foundation Day event also saw the Central Silk Board sign Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with several organisations, distribute appointment letters to 28 scientists, confer awards on outstanding employees and stakeholders, and release new publications and periodicals.

What's Next

With a clear 2028-29 milestone set for topping global silk rankings and a longer-term 2030-31 production target of 60,000 metric tonnes, the pace of technology rollout and farmer-level outreach will be closely watched. Whether India can overtake China — whose decline in output remains uneven — will depend on how swiftly modern techniques reach sericulture clusters beyond Karnataka.