The National Jute Manufactures Corporation Limited (NJMC) is an Indian public sector undertaking under the administrative control of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. The corporation was established to take over and operate jute mills in eastern India, and forms part of the central government's involvement in the jute industry, which is concentrated largely in West Bengal.
| Name | National Jute Manufactures Corporation Limited |
|---|---|
| Type | Central Public Sector Undertaking |
| Industry | Jute manufacturing |
| Administrative ministry | Ministry of Textiles, Government of India |
| Area of operations | Eastern India, primarily West Bengal |
| Country | India |
The jute industry has historically been one of the oldest organised manufacturing sectors in India, with most of its mills situated along the Hooghly river in West Bengal. From the 1970s onwards, several privately owned jute mills in the region faced financial distress, prompting the central government to intervene by taking over sick units. NJMC was constituted as a government-owned corporation to manage and revive a group of such mills, with the objective of protecting employment and continuing production of jute goods such as sacking, hessian, and other woven products used for packaging agricultural commodities like foodgrains and sugar.
NJMC has historically operated jute mills located in West Bengal. Like other public sector jute enterprises, its production has been linked to government procurement under the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987, which mandates the use of jute packaging for specified agricultural produce. The corporation's product range has traditionally included hessian cloth, sacking bags, and allied jute textiles.
As a central public sector enterprise in the jute sector, NJMC has been part of the government's policy framework for sustaining the jute industry, which supports a large workforce of mill workers and an extensive base of jute farmers in eastern India. The corporation's role has been examined in the context of revival packages, restructuring proposals, and broader debates on the viability of public sector jute mills.