Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wears Tussar Silk Saree For Budget : Know All About The Fabric

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is wearing a blue coloured silk saree with leaf prints for her sixth budget presentation. It has kantha stitches over the pallu and the body of the saree. Keeping it minimal, she paired her blue saree with a cream-coloured blouse, gold pendant, bangles, and a bindi in the last full budget before the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

How is tussar silk made?

Tussar silk is produced from larvae of several species of silkworms belonging to the moth genus Antheraea. These silkworms live in wild forests with big trees and food plants such as jamun and oak, eating the leaves of the trees on which they live. Tussar silk is valued for its rich texture and natural, deep-gold colour, and varieties are produced in many Asian countries, including China, India, Japan, and Sri Lanka.

To produce the silk, cocoons are dried in the sun to kill the worms or alternatively, silkworms are allowed to leave before the cocoons are soaked in boiling water to soften the silk, and then the fibres are reeled. Single-shelled, oval-shaped cocoons are collected and then boiled to extract the silk yarn. If the cocoons are boiled after the larvae have left them, the fabric made is called Ahimsa silk.

Production of tussar silk in India

India is the second-largest producer of tussar silk, and the exclusive producer of Indian tussar, which is considered to be a forest produce. Much of it is produced in Bhagalpur district of Bihar, and Malda district of West Bengal. Tussar silk is also used for Odisha's pattachitra and West Bengal's kantha stitches. In recent years, Jharkhand has come up as the biggest producer of tussar silk.

Sitharaman’s love for handloom sarees

Nirmala Sitharaman's love for handloom sarees is quite evident through her encouragement towards artisans involved in intricate work. She has time and again worn handloom sarees in the parliament. In her previous budget look, she wore a red handwoven silk saree, with a black and gold temple border detailing. In 2022, the Finance Minister chose to wear a brick and red coloured Bomkai saree from Odisha. In 2021, she adorned a red and off-white saree Pochampally ikat silk saree with green borders, that had been woven in Telangana, while in 2020 she wore a yellow gold saree, pairing it with a matching blouse.