New Delhi, Jan. 20 -- The government has increased the Central Silk Board's financial approval limit to help cut delays in clearing projects and improve implementation of schemes in the sector, with officials and industry executives expecting the move to support exports. The ministry of textiles increased the monetary ceiling to Rs.1 crore from Rs.50 lakh by amending Rule 22 of the Central Silk Board Rules, 1955, through a government notification issued on Friday. The change allows higher-value proposals to be cleared at the board level without repeated escalation for approvals, a process that officials said had slowed project implementation in recent years. The decision comes as the government looks to push value-added textile exports and reduce dependence on imported raw silk for a sector that is a key source of livelihood and foreign exchange earnings. India, the second-largest producer of silk globally, employs 9.76 million people in rural and semi-urban areas in the sector. V. Balasubramaniyan, president of the Silk Association of India, told Mint that the decision will help in faster approval of projects by the Central Silk Board and reduce delays in implementation as earlier, projects above Rs.50 lakh had to be sanctioned by the ministry of textiles, a process that used to take longer. "The immediate impact will be that the board can now take decisions on its own, significantly reducing delays in project approvals and implementation, which is expected to be beneficial for the silk sector," said Balasubramaniyan. India's exports of silk and silk products stood at $246 million in FY25. The country exports raw silk, natural silk yarn, fabrics and made-ups, readymade garments, silk waste and handloom products to more than 30 countries, including the UAE, the US, China, the UK, Italy, Singapore, Australia, France, Hong Kong and Canada. India produced 41,121 metric tonnes of silk in FY25, up from 38,913 metric tonnes in FY24, with mulberry silk accounting for the largest share. The major silk-producing states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. According to two officials, the revision in the financial approval limit was necessitated by the rise in project costs, particularly for infrastructure creation, technology upgrades and research undertaken by the Central Silk Board....