India’s Coir Sector: Creating Livelihoods, Promoting Entrepreneurship and Driving Sustainable Growth

Key Highlights:

• India is the world’s largest producer and exporter of coir, accounting for about two-thirds of global production.
• The Indian Coir Industry has a turnover of approximately ₹16,000 crore and contributes close to 1% to India’s GDP.
• It provides direct and indirect employment to over 7 lakh workers, with 80% being women from rural households.
• Exports of coir and coir products quadrupled from ₹1,630.33 crore in FY 2014-15 to ₹6,614.40 crore in FY 2025-26.
• The Ministry of MSME runs the central sector scheme, Coir Vikas Yojana (CVY), for sustainable development and growth of the sector.
• Over 21,000 coir units are registered on the Udyam registration portal, employing 2.3 lakh persons.

Detailed Insights:

• The coir sector promotes productive use of coconut husks, generating livelihoods and supporting rural and traditional communities.
• It is an eco-friendly manufacturing sector, transforming natural fibers into value-added products like mats, ropes, and mattresses.
• The Coir Vikas Yojana (CVY) focuses on developing new technologies, conducting skill training, and promoting sales domestically and internationally.
• Key achievements include training over 68,000 persons (80% women) and facilitating participation of over 1,000 exporters in international exhibitions.
• More than 150 innovative machines, technologies, and value-added coir products have been developed since 2014-15.
• The sector plays a crucial role in India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat @2047 through sustainable and inclusive growth.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Coir: A natural, fibrous material extracted from the outer husk of coconuts, processed into various eco-friendly products.
• Coir Vikas Yojana (CVY): A central sector scheme by the Ministry of MSME for sustainable development, skill training, and market promotion in the coir sector.
• Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP): A credit-linked subsidy scheme for setting up new micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector.
• Coir Board: A statutory body established under the Coir Industry Act, 1953, for the promotion and development of the coir industry in India.