Ministers call to usher in silk revolution

BANGALORE: Sericulture Minister B N Bacche Gowda on Saturday said that the State Government has plans to extend the silk cultivation to two lakh acres with a view to empower the farmers. Speaking at a programme in which Sericulture Awards were given away to progressive farmers who have adopted innovative technology, Bacche Gowda said it is high time to usher in silk revolution on the lines of milk revolution in order to prepare the farmers to fight the slush of silk from foreign countries. “It is with this intention, subsidy and incentives are being given to farmers to compete with global brands of silk,” he added. The minister rued that the Centre has not considered the State Government’s request to increase import duty from the present five per cent to 30 per cent in order to curb the massive influx of silk  from other countries but there has been no response.