Centre to make Bihar jute hub, says Giriraj

Patna: Union minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday said the Centre was formulating a comprehensive plan to develop Bihar as the “Gateway of Jute” in the country. Work will be undertaken at three levels — production, processing and marketing — to achieve the objective, he said.

The minister was speaking on the concluding day of the two-day National Jute Corporation Foundation Day ceremony held in Patna, where agriculture minister Ram Kripal Yadav and a large number of farmers and officials were present.

High-yield certified jute seeds were distributed to farmers, reaffirming the Jute Corporation of India (JCI)’s commitment to productivity, sustainability and farmer welfare, while advancing initiatives such as Jute ICARE and Jute Mark India.

Singh said the Centre is devising a strategy to make jute cultivation more profitable and that jute-producing farmers can earn a profit ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per acre. He asked officials to focus on manufacturing clothes and other fabrics from jute. “This will broaden the scope of jute utilization and enable farmers to secure better prices for their produce,” he said.

Later, talking to reporters, Singh criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his comments on PM Narendra Modi in the context of the Iran war and described the opposition leader as a “naïve child” who does not even know when and what to say.

“While global oil prices have increased by 15% to 20% in countries like the US and England, efforts are being made to keep prices stable in India despite dependence on imports. While PM Modi is working hard to reduce the burden on the people by cutting excise duty on oil to ease their financial difficulties, Rahul’s approach is to create confusion and anger among the public and use such situations to provoke unrest,” Singh said.