Context:

The State government of Assam has decided to provide clothes made of ‘Eri’- to grade IV employees.

Eri Silk

• The word ‘Eri’ is inspired by the Assamese word ‘era’ which means castor.
• Eri Silk is one of the purest forms of Silk that is a true and genuine product of the Samia cynthia ricini worm.
• It is the only domesticated silk produced in India, as the process doesn’t involve any killing of the silkworm, also naming Eri silk as ‘Ahimsa silk or fabric of peace’.
• Around forty percent of Eri Silk is produced in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Bihar, Orrisa, Karnataka, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand.
• The bulk of Eri Silk production gives Assam the name of Eri Silk state.
• The unique thing in Eri silk is the type of cocoon. Its fiber is not reeled. The cocoon is open-ended and the moth emerges or worm is extracted.
  • All other silk cocoons require boiling in hot water to reel the continuous fibers.

Silk varieties are found in India

• There are four types of natural silk produced in India for commercial purposes. These are known as.
  • Mulberry silk: Among these four kinds, mulberry silk contributes to more than 80% of the silk produced in the country.
  • Tasar silk: It is primarily produced in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
  • Muga Silk: An exclusive specialty of Assam, the Muga silk is one of the rarest silks produced in the world. This silk is produced by the larva of a silkworm named Assam silkmoth (Antheraea assamensis).
  • Eri silk: It comes from the silkworm Philosomia ricini that feeds mostly on the leaves of the castor plant, Ricinus communis.