NITI Aayog Organizes National Workshop On Bamboo Development Mission

New Delhi, December 31 (TNA) NITI Aayog organized a national-level workshop on bamboo development on Thursday. Through the workshop, participants sought to holistically understand all components of the bamboo value chain—plantation, production, processing, standardization and utilization—in order to develop strategies and a roadmap for the development of a circular economy in the sector. As many as 150 participants attended the workshop, both online and offline.

Speaking on the occasion, union minister Dr Jitendra Singh highlighted the urgent need for raising public awareness about the untapped potential of bamboo and encouraged the establishment of entrepreneurial start-ups in the sector. He characterized bamboo as ‘green gold’, recognizing its crucial role in uplifting the Indian economy in the post-Covid scenario.

He added, ‘Bamboo can be used for making bio-ethanol, which would reduce dependence on imported fossil fuel, thereby achieving the goal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat in the petroleum sector.’

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar said, ‘Bamboo is a natural product that can benefit many industries. The need of the hour is to work on increasing the supply and meet the growing demand for bamboo and its products. There is a strong need to promote the bamboo sector across all states with the development of entrepreneurship amongst farmers and the youth.’