Section Text
CENTRAL SILK BOARD ACT, 1948 CENTRAL SILK BOARD ACT, 1948 61 of 1948 "The Report of the Silk Panel appointed by the Government recommended -
(a) improvement of mulberry cultivation, adequate supplies of disease free seed, and improvement of rearing Md reeling, and (b) expansion of the industry's present capacity of about 2 million pounds a year to 4 million pounds a year. To implement these recommendations it has been decided to set up a Central Silk Board. The functions of the Board would be to advise Government generally on matters relating to silk, e.g. on import, export and tariff policy; to supervise the expansion of the silk industry; and to improve the quality standards of the industry and the processing of cocooni and by-products. The proposed Bill is designed to give effect to this decision".- Gazette of India, 1948, Part V, page 449 Act 31 of 1953.- The Central Silk Board constituted under the Central Silk Board Act, 1948, requires to be reconstituted. The Minister for Commerce and industry is at present the Chairman of the Board and this is an anomalous position for him. Further, some changes are also essential in regard to the representation of various interests including labour 6n the Board with a view to increasing its efficiency. It is also necessary to increase the powers of control vested in the Board by authorising rules to be made in that behalf by the Central Government. The amendments are designed to carry these into effect.
a) to extend the scope of the Act to cover the silk industry generally instead of raw silk as at present;
(b) to substitute a new section for section 2of the principal Act in order to bring its language in conformity with the language of entry 52 of List I in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution; and (c) to indemnify all authorities in respect of action taken between the commencement of the Constitution and the commencement of this Act, as a doubt may be raised as to whether, in the absence of a declaration made by Parliament by law, the declaration contained in section 2was effective during that period.- Gaz. of lnd., 27-12-1912, Pt. II, S. 2, p. 61 of 1948) provides for the development of the silk industry under the control of the union and for that purpose has establishment (established) a Central Silk Board Under sub-section (2) of section 12of that act, the accounts of the Board are to be audited annually by auditors appointed by the Central Government and at present the accounts are, by consent, being audited by the Deputy Accountant General, Commerce, Works and Miscellaneous, Bombay. It is proposed to amend section 12to make specific provision authorising the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India or any other person authorised by him to audit the accounts of the Board. It is also proposed to insert a provision requiring the Board to prepare for every year a report of its activities during that year and submit it to the Central Government for being laid before Parliament.