Question

Which of the following states is not a raw silk producing state?
A. Bihar
B. Himachal Pradesh
C. Karnataka
D. Jammu and Kashmir

Answer 1

Hint:- Production of mulberry plants which is the most important component for the production of silk.
- Through growing the silkworms on mulberry leaves, the extraction of raw silk begins. Once the worms begin pupating in their cocoons, they are dissolved in boiling water in order to collect individual long fibres and then spin them in the spinning reel. This whole process is called sericulture.
- The state didn't have climatic conditions for the production of mulberry plants.

Complete answer:
A. In Bihar the climatic conditions are not in consonance with those which are required for the production of raw silk. Thus the production of raw silk is not done much there. But in spite of this, there are still many silk fabric distributors and wholesalers in Bihar.
B. Earlier, not much raw silk was produced in Himachal Pradesh but with the passage of time Farmers of Himachal Pradesh are turning up to sericulture. Within the state, the district of Bilaspur is the largest producer of the silk cocoon.
C. There are 5 major states of India producing raw mulberry silk. They are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujrat. Among these, Karnataka is the largest raw silk producing state.
D. Kashmir has a very old history of silk production. Though the silk production faced a sudden steep decline in the state. But so far phenomenal progress was done in the production of raw silk in the early years in Kashmir.

Hence the correct answer is option A.

Note:- Sir Thomas Wardle was the person who established the first silk factory in Kashmir. He did this in 1897 and was the then president of the Silk Association of Great Britain.
- The Angora silk yarn is a cloth that is smooth and sensual, made up of the softest thread in the world. It comes from the 'Angora' rabbits. These rabbits are being reared from hundreds of years to grow Angora silk yarn, with the roots of this yarn being in Turkey.