Sericulture for Sustainable Rural Development - in Indian Percepective.

Silk is the fine strong soft lustrous fiber produced by silkworms and is an inseparable part of Indian culture and tradition. The word silk sounds luxury and class. Silk is the queen of textile and the naturally produced animal fiber. Till today, no other fabric can match it in luster and elegance. As long as human desire for silk garments continues, the demand for sericulture activity remains. Natural sheen, inherent affinity for dyes and vibrant colours, high absorbance, light weight, resilience and excellent drape etc. have made silk, the irresistible and inevitable companion of the eve all over the world. Chemically speaking, the silk is made of proteins secreted in the fluid state by a caterpillar, popularly known as silkworm, Bombyx mori L. "Sericulture" means cultivation of silkworms, which finally produces silk. Traditionally, Indian economy is largely dependent on the success of agriculture and allied farm activities as more than 70 per cent of the people's livelihood security is depending on this sector. Sericulture being an agro-based enterprise plays a predominant role in shaping the economic destiny of the rural people and fits very well in India's rural structure, where agriculture continues to be the main occupation. Sericulture occupies a very important position in the Indian economy. Its structure comprising of mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing, silk reeling and fabric weaving spreads across the agriculture sector, industrial sector as well as cottage industries and export units. Thus sericulture plays a pivotal role in economic development of the country by generating employment, income, as well as foreign exchange. In view of the importance of sericulture for the rural development in Indian context, the paper tries to analyse the importance of the sericulture and strategies to be taken for the sustainable development of sericulture industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]