Coir industry currently has over 7 lakhs of coir workers, 80 per cent of whom are women across India while there are 1,570 registered coir exporters in the country. (Image: Coirboard.gov.in)

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Kochi-headquartered Coir Board, under the MSME Ministry, is looking to take multiple steps to promote coir usage, create awareness among entrepreneurs, and train youth for employment in the sector, as it aims to develop coir industry in the Konkan region. According to the ministry, the present Sub Regional Office of Coir Board at Sindhudurg has been shifted and upgraded to Regional Office at Kudal with sufficient staff strength and office space. This office will undertake enhanced activities for the development of the coir industry in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa, the ministry said in a statement. Konkan region is a narrow coastal land strip in Maharashtra with a 720 km long Arabian Sea coast on its west and parallels Sahyadri mountain ranges on its east.

The centre will also facilitate for extension of the services of the board and act as an integrated hub for promoting incubation and skilling in coil, marketing coir products, offering technical assistance, scheme implementation, etc. in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, and Gujarat. The board has also proposed creating awareness among coir artisans through Entrepreneurship Development Programmes and awareness programmes about MSME Ministry’s schemes such as SFURTI, Market Development Programmes for strengthening the export sector, etc.

According to the government data, the export of coir and coir products in FY21 was all-time high worth Rs 3778.98 crores, up by more than Rs 1,021 crores from the previous year. The board is aiming to hit the Rs 7,000-crore mark in coir exports in a “couple of years”. The top five coir importing countries from India as of November 2020 were the US followed by China, the Netherlands, South Korea, and the UK, according to the ministry’s 2020-21 annual report.

Subscribe to Financial Express SME newsletter now: Your weekly dose of news, views, and updates from the world of micro, small, and medium enterprises 

Under the Ministry’s CVY-Skill Upgradation & Mahila Coir Yojana scheme, the board will be providing training to 600 beneficiaries in different coir processing technologies to enable employment and thereby revenue generation in the sector by availing Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme and SFURTI schemes. “An Action Plan Target has been fixed for the FY 2021-22 for providing skill training to potential beneficiaries and thereby developing coir industry in the zone,” the ministry added.

The board is also looking at setting up five new coir clusters under SFURTI Scheme with a total financial outlay of Rs 25 crore to generate employment for 1,600 coir artisans and also establishing 50 individual units for creation of employment up to 1,000 beneficiaries under PMEGP Scheme, primarily focusing on manufacturing of coir fibre & yarn, coir geo textile, coir mats & handicrafts, garden articles, pith block, needled felt, pith manure, etc. with an approximate budget of Rs 5 crore.

Coir industry currently has over 7 lakhs of coir workers, 80 per cent of whom are women across India while there are 1,570 registered coir exporters in the country.