Consider the following statements i. Almost all popular commercial varieties of silk are produced in India

Question

Consider the following statements:

i. Almost all popular commercial varieties of silk are produced in India

ii. Karnataka is the leading silk producing state of India

iii. Tamilnadu is the leading silk producing state of India

iv. Indian silk industry faces a tough competition from Italy and Japan.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. A. i and ii
2. B. ii and iii
3. C. ii, iii and iv
4. D. i, ii and iv (Correct answer)

Correct Answer

Option D — i, ii and iv

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is i, ii and iv.

Key Points

• Statement i is correct. India is the only country that produces all four commercially traded varieties of natural silk — mulberry, eri, tasar (including the tropical and temperate kinds) and muga.
• Statement ii is correct. Karnataka is India's leading silk producing state, contributing the largest share of raw silk, with the Ramanagara cocoon market and the Mysore silk tradition at its centre.
• Statement iii is incorrect, and it directly contradicts statement ii. Tamil Nadu is a significant producer but not the leader. Only one of the two can be true, which alone eliminates options B and C.
• Statement iv is correct as marked. India's silk industry competes with established high-value producers abroad, and the balance of quality and price against imported silk is a standing problem for the sector.

Additional Information

• India is the second largest producer of raw silk in the world after China, and also the largest consumer of silk — which is why it remains a net importer despite the scale of production.
• The four varieties and where they come from:
  • Mulberry — the bulk of output, roughly 70 per cent; Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Jammu & Kashmir.
  • Eri — reared on castor; Assam and the north-east. Known as *ahimsa silk* because the moth is allowed to emerge.
  • Muga — the golden silk unique to Assam, holding a Geographical Indication tag.
  • Tasar — wild silk from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha; the temperate *oak tasar* comes from the Himalayan states.
• Sericulture is labour-intensive and rural, making it an important non-farm income source for small holders and women. It is supported through the Central Silk Board (Bengaluru, established 1948) and the Silk Samagra scheme.
• The Silk Mark, issued by the Silk Mark Organisation of India, certifies genuine natural silk to protect buyers from art-silk substitutes.

Exam Tip

• When two statements in the same set make mutually exclusive claims — here, two different states both called "the leading producer" — settle which one is true first. It usually collapses the option set to one or two candidates before any other fact is needed.