New Delhi, Feb 27 (Reuters) – India’s biggest newspaper has accused the government of “stealing” the spiraling paper tube industry, calling it an “economic and cultural disgrace” that was destroying the country’s image.
Spiral reinforced tube is a special tube used in India to store paper.
It is made of a mixture of paper, wood and a polyethylene polymer.
The tubes are made in India, and are commonly sold by mail order to households and small businesses.
The government says that since 2009, it has invested about 1.1 trillion rupees ($18 billion) in the tube industry.
The Times of Indian reported on Sunday that it had spoken to people who had used spirals to store papers, saying it was an industry worth about 7 billion rupees.
“The paper tube is like a key to our lives,” one man told the paper, adding that his wife had to use it for a job interview.
“This is an economic and cultural stain on our country.”
It said that the paper tube “has become the symbol of the national pride, dignity and pride of our people.”(Reporting by Jignesh Subramaniam; Editing by Sveta Balakrishnan)
