- Why in news
- On 7 September 2026, PIB published a explainer on India's jute sector. It gives FY 2025-26 output and export figures, the MSP for FY 2026-27 and an overview of schemes and digital tools.
- What it is
- Jute is a bast fibre crop called the Golden Fibre for its colour and lustre. It is grown mainly in eastern India by small farmers, and processed in mills concentrated in West Bengal. The sector is supported by MSP, compulsory jute packaging rules and the National Jute Board.
- Jute Corporation of India
- JCI is the sole nodal agency for implementing the MSP policy for raw jute. It buys from farmers when market prices fall below MSP.
- National Jute Development Programme
- NJDP is the umbrella scheme, run by the National Jute Board, with an outlay of ₹485.58 crore for FY 2021-22 to 2025-26. Its components are JUTE-ICARE and the Jute Diversification Scheme.
- Mills and states
- India has 120 composite jute mills, and West Bengal has 89 of them, the most of any state.
- JUTE-ICARE
- Launched in FY 2015-16 to raise productivity and fibre quality through better seeds, mechanisation and improved retting.
Don’t confuse with Jute Corporation of India vs National Jute Board: JCI procures raw jute at MSP. The National Jute Board is the nodal body for development, promotion and diversification of the sector.
Don’t confuse with Jute vs mesta: Mesta is a bast fibre grown as a cheaper alternative in drier regions. Trade classifies both together as raw jute.
Economy terms and data: 42 Prelims questions since 2013, rising in recent years; they test what a term or instrument means. In Mains, 12 news-triggered questions.
Why it matters
- Jute supports about 40 lakh farm families and about 3.70 lakh workers, mostly in eastern India.
- Being biodegradable, it is an alternative to plastic and synthetic packaging.
Problems
- Demand depends on compulsory packaging norms, and competition from synthetics persists.
- Cultivation is rainfed and mostly by small and marginal farmers, so output and incomes are exposed to weather.
Way forward
- Expand diversified products and jute geotextiles, and build export markets.
- Improve retting, mechanisation and digital monitoring to raise yield and fibre quality.
Put in your answer
Jute Geotextile: A biodegradable technical textile used for soil erosion control, road construction and river bank protection.
- 2017Mains GS3 · Q15Subsidies' effect on cropping; MSP and insurance for small farmers
- 2019Mains GS1 · Q7Factors for localisation of agro-based food processing in North-West India
- 2018Mains GS3 · Q3MSP meaning and its role against farmers' low income
- 2004Prelims Q77Statements on procurement targets, MSP coverage and TPDS prices
- 2009Prelims Q9Statements on CACP's MSP recommendations and food security mission
- 2020Prelims Q69Statements on unlimited MSP procurement and market price levels
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Standing explainer on jute sector, production and policy; mostly data, so no question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.