The sericulture industry is one of the oldest industries in West Bengal, across different districts like Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum, and others. The present research aims to evaluate the contribution of the sericulture industry in employment generation in West Bengal, understand the socio-economic impact of the individuals employed in the sector in West Bengal, and recommend strategies to improve the socio-economic aspects of the rural farmers of the state further. The research has been carried out by thematically analyzing five peer-reviewed journals, books, and government reports. The findings of the research suggest that the sericulture industry contributes significantly to socio-economic upliftment and employment generation in West Bengal, although challenges regarding resource and government support exist. In order to improve this situation, encouragement towards entrepreneurship, research, and development as well as training sessions for the rural silk farmers in West Bengal are necessary. The lack of data sources and primary data are the main limitations of the research and further study in this area is required to enhance knowledge in the research.

Sericulture Industry in West Bengal, Socio-economic situation, silk farmers in rural areas, Indian sericulture industry, income sources of silk farmers

Based on the above discussion, it can be concluded that the rural section of West Bengal suffers from the inadequacy of resources and government support. Despite this, the sericulture industry provides a large scale of employment in the state. The Tasar sector generates employment for the rural community of Birbhum for a long time due to the sustainability of the sector. However, in order to reveal the full potential of the industry, silk-based startups need to be promoted among rural farmers by providing them with regular training and conducting proper research and development in the industry. The research also addresses the issue of employment in the sericulture industry in West Bengal by pointing out the recommendation to increase employment generation in this sector. Limitations. The main limitation of the research is that it has been carried out by collecting a limited number of data sources. This reduces the concentration of information in the research. Additionally, the lack of primary data also restricts the research to collect the opinions of rural farmers regarding their social and economic upliftment through the sericulture industry in person. Further research is required to gain more knowledge in the area of the research. Research Gaps The main gap related to the present research is that it only considered West Bengal as the focus area. States like Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, and other states of India also have vibrant sericulture industries. However, this research only concentrates on West Bengal, which narrows the scope of the research. Additionally, data related to other districts of West Bengal than Birbhum and Malda has been scarce, reducing the research scope further.

Biplab Pramanick (2025). Role of the Sericulture Industry for the Socio-economic Growth in the Eastern Region: A Study on West Bengal. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 17(1): 100-106.