At the NE Investors’ Summit held in Shillong, the North Eastern Council (NEC) and the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to harness the hidden potential of Cane and Bamboo of North Eastern Region and to establish the presence of bamboo and cane as an economically strong industry.

The MoU will provide a push for the integrated and inclusive development of Cane & Bamboo Sector of North East Region by way of skilled manpower, technology dissemination, marketing support and institutional support required for the holistic development of Bamboo which can coordinate a mission to mobilize masses and promote Bamboo sector as a whole throughout the country.

The MoU was signed by the Secretary,NEC Shri Ram Muivah and Development Commissioner(Handicrafts) Shri Alok Kumar. The Union Minister of Textiles Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr Mukul Sangma, Chairman, NEC &MoS (IC) for Development of North Eastern Region Dr. Jitendra Singh, MoS for Home Affairs,Shri Kiren Rijiju, MoS for Textiles Shri Ajay Tamta and Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Dr ArvindPanagriya were also present on the occasion.

The NEC and the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) will promote Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC), Assam and the Bamboo & Cane Development Institute (BCDI), Tripura, as the Centres of Excellence not only in the North East Region, but also in South East Asia.

As per the MoU, the CBTC will be transformed into a Regional Centre of Excellence and the BCDI will be converted as a separate entity under the name Indian Institute of Bamboo Technology (IIBT). CBTC and BCDI will collaborate for Institutional support for bamboo sector and will generate awareness and cultivating knowledge base among the masses about possibilities of sustainable utilisation of the raw materials cultivated by the sector.

CBTC and BCDI will serve as a platform for generating and exchanging the knowledge base on the product development in Cane and Bamboo through the Discipline of Product Design and Innovation. The collective knowledge base of the sector would be documented and made available through library resources, multimedia, publications and online resources.

The Discipline of Bamboo and Cane product Innovation will help in defining the criteria for Industry standards and certification in terms of Quality and protecting the geographical rights for traditional innovations.

Education will be imparted at various levels; to Craftsmen and Entrepreneurs, Designers, Farmers, Technologists and Marketing and Management professionals.

Training programmes on subjects such as Entrepreneurship development among the artisan community with inputs in product innovation and design will also be provided in order to contribute in the up gradation of the socio economic status of the cane and bamboo industry in the region and at a national level.