Virendra Singh Rawat / Lucknow
To promote sericulture and silk fabric, the Uttar Pradesh government will soon set up a ‘Silk Exchange’ in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Varanasi is a world famous textile hub, including silk weaving. The Silk Exchange is expected to facilitate ready availability of silk to traders and sari manufacturers at reasonable prices.
Moreover, the state is looking to open an office of the Karnataka Silk Marketing Board (KSMB) at the Exchange to make available raw silk reeled to the local weavers making the exquisite Banarasi sari.
Once the Exchange is operational, the government will connect the weavers to optimise the benefits of the new infrastructure, which will harmonise weavers and yarn making units in the state.
It will provide a platform to the silk reelers to sell their produce. It will offer the facility of testing for quality and fixing of floor price for the different silk lots.
The auctioning of the silk lots would fetch remunerative prices to traders and also ensure spot payment to reelers.
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“The Silk Exchange will stabilise the silk reeling industry and encourage more private investment. It will eliminate middlemen such as commission agents, and establish a direct link between the producers and the consumers of silk,” a state government official said.