The restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) is focusing on the development of the complete value chain of the bamboo sector and link growers with markets, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in the Lok Sabha.

Activities under the NBM are approved as per the annual action plans received from the state governments. The operational guidelines of the NBM provide inter alia assistance for treatment, establishment of markets, incubation centres, value added product development and processing, development of tools and equipment, research and development, both in the government and private sector, which include startups too.

Under the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), 12 bamboo-related clusters have been approved in eight states.

The NBM also envisages the establishment of primary processing units close to the production area to reduce transportation costs and complete utilisation of bamboo to move towards zero wastage so as to improve economies of entrepreneurs and lower costs to consumers.

Considering the need and demand from bamboo-based stakeholders and to provide cheaper bamboo products to consumers, the government reduced the GST on bamboo furniture and bamboo flooring to 12 per cent.

Background

India has the highest area (13.96 million hectares) under bamboo and is the second richest country, after China, in terms of bamboo diversity with 136 species (125 indigenous and 11 exotic).

The bamboo and rattan industry of India is worth Rs 28,005 crore.

In spite of the growing stock both within and outside forests, India is a net importer of bamboo. It means that there are great opportunities to harness the market potential by increasing its production and ensuring the establishment of a proper value chain ecosystem.

In most of the hilly states, bamboo is used as building / construction material, besides, having a potential niche market in other countries as well with various traditional and an ever-increasing range of contemporary uses and applications in industries like construction, furniture, textiles, food, energy production, herbal medicine, etc. This is

especially important from the potential of bamboo-based livelihoods and employment for rejuvenating the rural economy and doubling of farmers’ income.

National Bamboo Mission

The National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was launched as a centrally sponsored scheme in 2006-07 and was subsumed under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) in 2014-15 and continued till 2015-16.

The restructured NBM was launched in April 2018 with an outlay of Rs 1,290 crore for two years.

The NBM is a sub-scheme of the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) under the umbrella scheme Krishonnati Yojana.

The operational guidelines of the NBM provide inter alia assistance for treatment, establishment of markets, incubation centres, value added product development and processing, development of tools and equipment, research and development, both in the government and private sector, which would include startups also.

Major objectives of the NBM

* To increase the area under bamboo plantation in non-forest, government and private land to supplement farm income and contribute towards resilience to climate change as well as the availability of quality raw material requirement of industries.

* To improve post-harvest management through the establishment of innovative primary processing units near the source of production, primary treatment and seasoning plants, preservation technologies and market infrastructure.

* To promote product development keeping in view market demand, by assisting R&D, entrepreneurship and business models at micro, small and medium levels and feed the bigger industry.

* To rejuvenate the underdeveloped bamboo industry in India.

* To promote skill development capacity building, awareness generation for development of bamboo sector from production to market demand.

* To realign efforts so as to reduce dependency on import of bamboo and bamboo products by way of improved productivity and suitability of domestic raw material for industry, so as to enhance the income of primary producers.

The way ahead

Modern technologies allow the use of bamboo as a durable and high-quality wood substitute. Premium products such as bamboo flooring, laminated furniture, mat boards, strand lumber, etc have huge international demand with big pro-poor financial impact and employment potential.

Bamboo bridges and prefabricated houses have large potential in defence, disaster management and low-cost housing. Flatpack and knockdown furniture are novel concepts.

Hence, there would be a focused approach towards blending traditional and

innovations with infusion of technology to give value added products at par with global standards.

The North Eastern Council has identified bamboo cultivation as a major source of economic gains to the Northeast region having potential to provide additional source of income to small and marginal farmers, which is the current priority of the government.

With revitalising of the bamboo industry, through various innovations and policy support, it would contribute by way of climate resilient structures and contribute to Make in India mantra also, giving stiff competition to other global players in the sector.