The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved reservation norms for the use of jute bags in packaging for the Jute Year 2023–24 (July 1, 2023–June 30, 2024) under the JPM Act, 1987. This reservation norm will provide for compulsory packaging of all foodgrains and 20% of sugar in jute bags.
Under the provisions of the JPM Act, the government will provide relief to 4 lakh workers employed in jute mills and ancillary units and will also support the livelihood of around 40 lakh farm families.
75% of the total production of the jute industry is jute sacking bags, of which 85% is supplied to the Food Corporation of India (FCl) and State Procurement Agencies (SPAs), and the remaining is exported or sold directly.
Annually, the Indian government purchases jute sacking bags totalling around ₹12,000 crore for the packing of foodgrains, with an average production of 30 lakh bales (9 lakh MT).
The reservation norms will also protect the interest of domestic production of raw jute and jute packaging material in India in consonance with Aatmnirbhar Bharat, as nearly 65% of the raw jute produced in the country in 2022–23 was consumed by reservation for packaging in jute packaging material, as per a press release by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
The jute industry is one of the major industries in the eastern region of India, i.e., Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and especially West Bengal. The government claims that it ensures a guaranteed market for the produce in order to protect the interests of jute farmers and workers, as per the release.
