Promotion of cane and bamboo in India

In a major boost to India’s cane and bamboo sector, the North Eastern Council (NEC) of India and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation(UNIDO)  have signed  a US $ 600,000 Trust Fund agreement towards the "Cane and Bamboo Networking Project" in the northeast. The Agreement was signed  in Guwahati, Assam, on 29 January 2009, at a ceremony chaired  by  Mr. Rajkumar Falguni, Secretary of the Northeastern Council;  Mr Philippe Scholtès, UNIDO Representative in India, Mr. Kamesh Salam, Director of the Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC), representatives of  NEC and  the staff of CBTC.

The NEC contribution is part of a US $2 million project also supported by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) - UNIDO's nodal ministry in the Government; the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicraft); and UNIDO. The four-year project will be executed during 2009-2012 by UNIDO and CBTC.

It will primarily target technology issues of bamboo processing in its various forms and a rich diversity of items ranging from handicraft to construction materials and export-quality flooring products.

CBTC meanwhile is also developing a state-of-the-art compound in a five-acre plot of land offered by NEC along the Guwahati-Shillong highway. The facility will demonstrate modern technologies for bamboo processing and host training programmes for the benefit of artisans and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region.

In the long run, UNIDO plans to build upon CBTC resources to expand its portfolio of activities in the Northeast and deploy other specialized services on renewable energy or leather processing, as a contribution to the creation of jobs and incomes in the region.