CSB-Central Silk Technological Research Institute

Choosing the right route

• For silk technology you want to use commercially, look at technology licensing.
• For machinery, the Catalytic Development Programme covers machinery only, not land or buildings.
• For skills, the post-cocoon courses name entrepreneurs, students and workers among their audiences.
• For testing fibre, yarn, fabric or dyes, the Textile Testing Laboratory is the route.
• The site describes no incubation or startup funding route.

How applications work

• Licences: contact the Director. Each technology's licence period and royalty terms are on the commercialisation page.
• Subsidy: for guidance on the Catalytic Development Programme, contact the Department of Sericulture in your state.
• Courses: write to the Director or contact the Training Division.
• Testing: testing is on a charges basis, so ask the laboratory for current rates.

Before you apply

• Confirm that a subsidy scheme is open for applications. The scheme pages do not show a current window.
• Ask the testing laboratory whether its NABL accreditation has been renewed. The linked certificate shows validity to 23 September 2026.
• Ask for batch dates and course fees directly, since the training page does not state them.
• For general enquiries, use the institutional mailbox on the Contact Us page, cstriban.csb@nic.in.

CSB-CSTRI, the Central Silk Technological Research Institute, is a government institute that works under the Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. It was established in 1983, and its main campus is the CSB Complex in B.T.M. Layout, Bangalore, Karnataka. Its work is post-cocoon silk technology: reeling, spinning, twisting, weaving, dyeing and printing, offered through licensing, testing, consultancy, training and field services.

Recognition

The institute's website describes it as the only research institute in the country dedicated to silk technology. It also says the Government of India recognises it as one of the country's Textile Research Associations.

What the institute offers

The institute's services are aimed at the silk industry, its entrepreneurs and the people who work in it. Its site describes technology licensing, testing, consultancy and training, and the subsidy schemes it helps implement. It does not describe an incubator, an accelerator or a startup intake, so it is best approached for silk technology, testing or machinery subsidy rather than for mentoring or seed support.

Technology licensing

The institute lists eight of its technologies for commercial licence. Licences are non-exclusive. Each technology carries its own licence amount and licence period, and the institute charges a royalty on use, with applicable tax added. Listed technologies include a slit button, void silk reeling technology and silk stretch yarn manufacturing. Enquiries go to the Director.

Subsidy schemes

The Catalytic Development Programme gives a subsidy for machinery to new and existing silk entrepreneurs, and to earlier Central Silk Board scheme beneficiaries who have not defaulted. The subsidy is for machinery only, not for land or buildings. The institute's site points applicants to the Department of Sericulture in their state for guidance. The scheme pages do not show a current application window, so confirm it is open before you plan around it.

The institute also implements the post-cocoon components of Silk Samagra-II, a Central Silk Board scheme for the silk industry. Its 2026-27 notice lists empanelled reeling-machinery manufacturers and approved costs for equipment packages. The scheme's subsidy rate, eligibility and application route are not stated.

Testing laboratory

The Textile Testing Laboratory runs physical, chemical and eco-parameter tests on fibre, yarn, fabric and dyes. Testing is provided to industry on a charges basis. The site says both divisions of the laboratory hold ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The accreditation certificate it links shows validity to 23 September 2026, and it does not show a renewal.

Training

The Training Division runs capsule, or certificate, courses on post-cocoon technology. They last four to eleven days, depending on the course. The stated audience includes officials of state sericulture departments, entrepreneurs, students, fashion designers, reelers, dyers, twisters, weavers and floor-level workers. The page does not give batch dates or fees, so ask the Training Division before you plan to attend.

For participants from other countries, the institute has run two ITEC courses under a Ministry of External Affairs programme. The latest ran from January to February 2020, and no current batch is listed.

Field units and locations

Beyond Bangalore, the institute works through field units in silk clusters. These include Demonstration cum Technical Service Centres and Silk Technical Service Centres, which give technical services to reeling and weaving clusters in their command area. One Silk Technical Service Centre is in Dharwad, Karnataka. The site says the institute has 14 sub-units in silk clusters across India, though the figure is not dated.

Track record

The site gives no count of startups or entrepreneurs supported. The figures it does publish are the 14 sub-units, which are undated, and the two ITEC courses.