Jute: India’s Golden Fibre and Green Economy

Why in News?

• India produced 76 lakh bales of raw jute and 12.80 lakh MT of jute goods during FY 2025-26.
• India exported 22,700 MT of raw jute worth ₹225.11 crore and 1.71 lakh MT of jute goods worth ₹3,155.27 crore.
• Government interventions are promoting farmer incomes, modernisation, digital monitoring, product diversification and global competitiveness.

What is Jute?

Jute is a natural bast fibre, obtained from the stem of the jute plant. Its golden colour and silky lustre have earned it the name “Golden Fibre.”

In trade and industry, jute and mesta are collectively classified as raw jute because they have similar uses.

• Jute: Mainly cultivated in hot, humid and high-rainfall regions.
• Mesta: A cost-effective bast-fibre crop suitable for relatively drier agro-climatic regions.

Status of India’s Jute Sector

• India is the world’s largest producer of raw jute.
• Combined production of jute and mesta increased from 88.02 lakh bales in 2024-25 to 94.03 lakh bales in 2025-26, according to the Third Advance Estimates.
• India produces nearly 75% of the world’s jute goods.
• The industry provides direct employment to approximately 3.70 lakh workers.
• Nearly 40 lakh farm families depend on jute cultivation.
• India had 120 composite jute mills as of December 2025.
• West Bengal alone had 89 mills, the highest among the States.
• Domestic consumption stood at 12.05 lakh MT, or about 94% of total jute-goods production, in FY 2025-26.
• India is self-reliant in jute-goods production, with domestic output meeting national requirements.

Major Jute-Producing States

West Bengal → Bihar → Assam → Odisha → Jharkhand

The industry’s cultivation and processing base is concentrated mainly in eastern and northeastern India.

History of Jute Production in India

• Jute use in India can be traced to approximately the third century BCE.
• It became an important commercial commodity during British rule, partly because of its military and packaging applications.
• The East India Company established jute mills in Bengal, making the region a major cultivation and processing centre.
• Following Partition in 1947, nearly 80% of jute-growing areas became part of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, while most mills remained in India.
• To overcome the resulting raw-material shortage, the government launched the Grow More Jute Campaign in September 1949.
• Raw jute production increased from 6.7 lakh tonnes in 1951-52 to 14.56 lakh tonnes in 1961-62.
• The Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987 created assured demand for jute packaging.

Conditions Required for Jute Cultivation

• Climate: Hot and humid
• Rainfall: Approximately 700–1,500 mm during the growing period
• Sowing season: March–April
• Harvesting period: Within 100–110 days
• Nature of cultivation: Predominantly rainfed
• Farm structure: Mainly cultivated by small and marginal farmers

Importance and Uses of Jute

Environmental Properties

Jute is:

• biodegradable;
• recyclable;
• rapidly renewable;
• cost-effective; and
• an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic materials and plastics.

Physical Properties

Jute fibre is:

• strong and durable;
• breathable;
• highly moisture-absorbent;
• suitable for thermal and acoustic insulation;
• low in static generation; and
• capable of blending with natural and synthetic fibres.

Major Applications

• packaging bags and sacks;
• handicrafts and home furnishings;
• ropes and industrial textiles;
• construction materials;
• agricultural products;
• apparel and blended fabrics; and
• soil conservation and road construction.

Jute Leaves as Food

Jute leaves are consumed as vegetables in parts of:

• Africa;
• the Middle East;
• Southeast Asia; and
• Japan, where they are recognised as a health food.

They contain vitamins, carotenoids, calcium, potassium and dietary fibre. Technologies have also been developed for antioxidant herbal drinks and healthcare products from jute leaves.

Jute Apparel at Commonwealth Games 2026

Indian athletes and team members wore jute-viscose-blended apparel at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

• The fabric was developed by the National Jute Board.
• The apparel was designed by NIFT, New Delhi.
• The initiative showcased biodegradable jute-based fabric and provided global visibility to Indian manufacturers.

Jute Geotextiles

Jute Geotextile (JGT) is a specially treated and woven jute product belonging to the category of technical textiles.

It is biodegradable and helps stabilise soil while improving soil structure and fertility.

Major Applications

• Slope protection: Used in embankments, hill cuttings, canals and riverbanks.
• Erosion control: Surface roughness holds soil and reduces its removal by water.
• Road construction: Improves load distribution and controls settlement.
• Railway tracks: Helps stabilise track formations.
• Drainage: Regulates water flow while preventing soil migration.
• Soft-soil treatment: Accelerates consolidation and improves bearing capacity.
• Ecological restoration: Maintains lower soil temperature and supports seed germination.

The National Jute Board provides technical assistance on design, testing, procurement and installation of JGT.

Government Interventions for the Jute Industry

Minimum Support Price

• The MSP for raw jute was fixed at ₹5,925 per quintal for FY 2026-27.
• It provides a return of 61.8% over the all-India weighted average cost of production.
• It represents an increase of approximately 147% over the ₹2,400 MSP in 2014-15.
• MSP payments increased from ₹441 crore during 2004-05 to 2013-14 to ₹1,342 crore during 2014-15 to 2025-26.

Mandatory Jute Packaging

Under the Jute Packaging Materials Act, 1987, the government mandated jute packaging for:

• 100% of foodgrains; and
• 20% of sugar.

This creates assured demand for jute bags and supports farmers and mill workers.

Jute Corporation of India

The Jute Corporation of India (JCI) is the sole nodal agency for implementing the MSP policy for raw jute.

• It procures directly from farmers when market prices fall below MSP.
• It operates around 110 Departmental Purchase Centres.
• These centres are located in West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Tripura.

National Jute Development Programme

The National Jute Development Programme (NJDP) is the umbrella scheme for developing and promoting the jute sector.

• Implementing agency: National Jute Board
• Outlay: ₹485.58 crore
• Period: FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26
• Focus: Productivity, farmer incomes, diversification and market promotion

Its two major components are:

• JUTE-ICARE; and
• Jute Diversification Scheme.

National Jute Board

The National Jute Board (NJB) is the nodal agency for development, promotion and diversification across the jute value chain.

Its functions include:

• improving cultivation and fibre quality;
• enhancing productivity and standardisation;
• promoting domestic and export markets;
• supporting research and diversified products; and
• strengthening artisans, women’s groups and MSMEs.

JUTE-ICARE

The Jute Improved Cultivation and Advanced Retting Exercise, launched in FY 2015-16, improves productivity and fibre quality through:

• certified seeds;
• scientific cultivation;
• field demonstrations;
• mechanisation; and
• improved retting techniques.

It is implemented with the Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres and JCI. Retting ponds are supported through convergence with PMKSY and RKVY.

Jute Diversification Scheme

The scheme promotes processing, value addition, modernisation and marketing.

• Jute Raw Material Banks: Supply raw materials to artisans, women’s groups, MSMEs and small producers at mill-gate price plus transportation cost.
• Capital subsidy: Provides a 30% subsidy for machinery purchased by eligible mills and MSMEs producing diversified products.
• Resource-cum-Production Centres: Offer cluster-based training and production support.
• Retail outlets: Provide 25% sales assistance, up to ₹9 lakh per unit.
• Export incentives: Link assistance to raw-material use and export value realisation.

Jute Mark India

The Jute Mark India logo certifies:

• authenticity;
• compliance with quality standards; and
• jute content in blended products.

It improves consumer confidence and brand recognition.

Market Promotion

During FY 2025-26, the government organised more than 57 regional jute fairs, including participation in:

• India International Trade Fair;
• Surajkund Mela; and
• Bharat Tex.

Organisations from Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha used NJB training and exhibitions to enter organised production and secure domestic and export orders.

Workers’ Welfare Scheme

Under the National Jute Board Act, 2008, scholarship and incentive support is provided to girl children of workers in jute mills and jute-product MSMEs after passing Secondary and Higher Secondary examinations.

Digital and Technological Interventions

JUTE-SMART

JUTE-SMART is an end-to-end e-governance portal developed by the Office of the Jute Commissioner in November 2016.

It manages procurement and supply of B.Twill jute bags for foodgrain packaging.

By August 2026:

• 303 lakh bales of B.Twill bags had been procured;
• each bale contained approximately 500 bags;
• procurement value exceeded ₹1 lakh crore; and
• more than 20 State procurement agencies, including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and the FCI used the portal.

The portal was upgraded in 2026 to digitally onboard transporters, raw-jute traders, importers and mills and enable online filing of returns.

Jute Crop Information System

The National Remote Sensing Centre of ISRO, in collaboration with JCI and NJB, developed the Jute Crop Information System.

It combines remote sensing and field data to monitor jute cultivation.

Its two major tools are:

• BHUVAN JUMP: Mobile application for field-level jute monitoring.
• PATSAN: Web-based platform providing near-real-time crop surveillance and analytics.

Significance of the Jute Sector

• Supports nearly 40 lakh farm families and 3.70 lakh industrial workers.
• Promotes rural employment, women’s groups, artisans and MSMEs.
• Provides an environmentally sustainable alternative to plastic packaging.
• Strengthens India’s biodegradable and technical-textile industries.
• Supports soil conservation and sustainable infrastructure through JGT.
• Generates export earnings and promotes self-reliance.
• Links traditional agriculture with digital monitoring and product innovation.

Future Priorities

• Expand diversified products beyond traditional packaging.
• Modernise mills and improve fibre-processing technology.
• Strengthen branding and export-market access.
• Promote JGT in roads, railways and erosion-control projects.
• Expand scientific retting and quality certification.
• Increase digital crop monitoring and market intelligence.
• Strengthen farmer, artisan and women’s-group participation.

Conclusion

Jute connects agricultural livelihoods, industrial development and environmental sustainability. Government support through MSP, mandatory packaging, diversification, technology and market promotion has strengthened the sector. Greater innovation and value addition can establish the Golden Fibre as a major component of India’s green economy and contribute to inclusive development and Viksit Bharat 2047.