Northeast India To Become Rubber Production Hub As Centre Plans Rubber Plantations On Two Lakh Hectares Land In The Region

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Wednesday (9 December) said the North-East can emerge as a hub for rubber production.

Goyal said the Central government has planned rubber plantations on a total of 2 lakh hectares in the Northeastern states over five years.

Addressing the ‘Destination Tripura - Investment Summit’ through video conferencing on Wednesday, the minister said Tripura is the second largest producer of rubber in the country with 30,000-hectare cultivation.

Goyal called upon the State government to be the first off the block and take advantage as the early harvester to expand rubber plantations in the state, a Commerce Ministry release said.

Four major tyre companies represented by Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) have together undertaken to contribute Rs 1,000 crore for rubber plantation development in 200,000 hectare land in the seven states of North East India, over a period of five years, the ministry said.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Rubber Board and ATMA on 1 March 2021. Participating tyre companies together transferred Rs 12 crore to the account set up by Rubber Board on 20 May 2021. Funds provided by the tyre companies are being used for procuring planting materials for commencing planting in 2021, it added.

Observing that Bamboo cultivation is another major resource in the NER, Goyal said Tripura is home to the largest bamboo flooring unit.

“Tripura has the potential to emerge as the country’s hub of Agarbatti Industry and make India Aatmanirbhar in Bamboo, often called as Green Gold, Industry," he said.

Referring to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call of ‘Transforming North-East into ‘Ashth Lakhsmi' of India, the minister said that the PM has accorded priority to the ‘Focus North-East’ programme and the ‘Make in India’ programme has been implemented in the region as the ‘Make in North-East’ programme.

“A dedicated Northeast Desk of Invest India has been set up, improved infrastructure and promoted industry," he said.

Goyal said the Centre is encouraging usage of agro-textiles and geotechnical textiles in the Northeast region through its dedicated schemes.

“With improved connectivity through Air, Rail, Road and Waterways, the so called geographical isolation of the state is a thing of the past. The state is an integral part of multimodal connectivity now,” he said.