Govt pitches for bamboo skill centres

Union Minister Jitendra Singh urged the Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) to explore setting up of vocational training and skill development centres for the bamboo sector for its full exploitation, branding, packaging and marketing in India and abroad.

The minister for DoNER said that CBTC, in coordination with the National Bamboo Mission, will work in this direction to boost the bamboo economy in the northeast region.

Skill centres will propel the bamboo industry with new startups and also enhance livelihood opportunities.

Jitendra Singh was chairing a review meeting of the ministry of development of north eastern region (DoNER). 

Key points of the review meeting:

Singh said that bamboo can be the main pillar of ecological, medicinal, paper and building sectors in India and it can become one of the important components of the country’s post-COVID-19 economy. It will be a key component of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in the northeast region.

The government decision to raise the import duty by 25 percent on raw bamboo items will help domestic bamboo industries including agarbatti making in a big way. Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram have been found suitable for Moso Bamboo cultivation widely used in agarbatti industry.

10 commercially important species of bamboo have been identified and the states will take up plantation of these new species on a large scale. 

The North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) to undertake a comprehensive bamboo study in coordination with other stakeholders and identify project profiles at the earliest.

The government has amended the century old Forest Act by taking home grown bamboo out of its purview, in order to enhance livelihood opportunities through bamboo.

Bamboo sector in India

India is the world’s second largest cultivator of bamboo after China, with 136 species and 23 general spread over 13.96 million hectares.

However, India’s share in the global bamboo trade and commerce is only 4 per cent.

In 2018, India’s annual bamboo production was estimated at 3.23 million tonnes.

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.

National Bamboo Mission

The National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was launched as a centrally sponsored scheme in 2006. 

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

Objectives of NBM:

• Promote the growth of the bamboo sector through an area based regionally differentiated strategy.

• Increase the coverage of areas under bamboo in potential areas, with suitable species to enhance yield.

• Promote marketing of bamboo and bamboo based-handicrafts.

• Establish convergence and synergy among stakeholders for the development of bamboo.

•  Generate employment opportunities for skilled and unskilled persons, especially for unemployed youths.

Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre

The Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) was established in 2000 in Guwahati as a centre for “Cane and Bamboo Technological Upgradation and Networking Project” implemented by NEDFi. The Department of Science & Technology (DST) and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) were the main stakeholders of the project.

After completion of the Project, it was registered as a society under North Eastern Council in ministry of DoNER. 

The CBTC has trained more than 5,400 artisans, students, farmers and entrepreneurs of the northeast region as well as foreign countries in the field of Cane and Bamboo Technology.

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