India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the mandatory packaging of food grains and sugar in jute material for jute year 2019-20. The government has retained the scope of mandatory packaging norms under the Jute Packaging Material (JPM) Act, 1987, as per last year. All food grains and 20 per cent of sugar shall be mandatorily packed in jute bags.
The decision to pack sugar in diversified jute bags will give an impetus to the diversification of the jute industry, according to an official release.
Further, the decision also mandates that initially 10 per cent of the indents of jute bags for packing food grains would be placed through reverse auction on the GeM portal. This will gradually usher in a regime of price discovery.
The approval will benefit farmers and workers located in the eastern and north-eastern regions, particularly West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura.
