Unlike the rest of the subcontinent, Assam retained many elements of its tribal economy well into the 19th century. With the British invasion the picture began to change gradually. Opening up of the Brahmaputra Valley in 1826 brought about two major changes in the mode of surplus extraction. One, colonial capital flowed into tea plantations, along with indentured labourers from mainland India. Though immensely profitable for the planters, this had a limited impact on the larger peasant economy of Assam.

Agro-based traditional industries play a vital role in industrialisation in an underdeveloped economy. The Indian jute industry has been globally significant since colonial times and enjoyed a “major industry” status. Under globalisation it is found that the key structural ratios like labour productivity, capital intensity and total factor productivity have been increasing.

This paper suggests an approach to a convincing method for control of surficial soil erosion by using Jute Geotextiles (JGT). The approach can be extended to other natural geotextiles as well.