Lok Sabha Question No. 3475 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-24
Subject: Bamboo Industry
Ministry: MICRO,SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
Asked by: Su Thirunavukkarasar, Ravneet Singh, Girish Bhalchandra Bapat, Pritam Gopinath Munde, Rahul Ramesh Shewale, Chandra Sekhar Sahu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3475

TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.03.2022

## BAMBOO INDUSTRY

## 3475.  SHRI THIRUNAVUKKARASAR SU:

SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU:

SHRI GIRISH BHALCHANDRA BAPAT:

DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE:

SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE:

SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU:

Will the Minister of MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Indian  bamboo  industry  is  facing  the  challenges  of  extremely  high  input  cost owing to inadequate utilisation of bamboo, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the KVIC / industry has requested lifting of export ban on bamboo charcoal in order to ensure adequate utilization of bamboo / raw bamboo and more profitability of the bamboo industry and if so, the action taken by the Government thereon and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the details of the steps taken by the Government  to reduce the input cost of Indian Bamboo Industry in the country;
- (d) whether  the  waste  generated  in  Agarbatti  and  bamboo  craft  industries  is  not  utilised commercially in the country, if so, the details thereof and the reasons   therefor;
- (e) whether the bamboo waste in the country can be best utilised by making bamboo charcoal which has a high demand overseas even as it has very limited use in the country, if so, the details thereof;
- (f) the  steps  taken  by  the  Union  Government  to  utilise  the  bamboo  waste  to  strengthen  the bamboo industry; and
- (g) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  take  any  measures  to  help  the  bamboo  industry  and enhance profitability in this industry and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SHRI BHANU PRATAP SINGH VERMA)

(a)  to  (c):    On  the  request  of  Khadi  and  Village  Industries  Commission  (KVIC),  the  Ministry  of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India, has amended the import policy of Agarbatti and placed it from 'Free' trade to 'Restricted' trade, w.e.f. 01.09.2019,  to restrict the import of raw Agarbatti and give boost to the indigenous production of Agarbatti, thereby safeguarding rural employment. Further, on the  request  of  KVIC,  Ministry  of  Finance,  vide  notification  dated  09.06.2020,  has  enhanced  the import duty from 10% to 25% on round bamboo sticks used for manufacturing of Agarbatti. This decision  of  the  Government  will  further  boost  local  employment  in  the  manufacturing  sector  of bamboo sticks.

Further,  in  order  to  tackle  all  aspects  of  the  bamboo  sector including high input  costs,  etc. Government of India has launched the restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM), as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, in 2018.

NBM works for promoting the holistic growth of the bamboo sector by increasing the area under  bamboo  cultivation  in  non-forest  land  and  to  link  growers  with  consumers  starting  from planting material, plantation, creation of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing, marketing, skill development and brand building initiative in a cluster approach mode.

(d) to (g):       The NBM has provisions for establishment of Bamboo treatment and seasoning plants, value  addition  of  bamboo  including  the  bamboo  wastes  generated  in  the  primary  processing  and product  manufacturing  units,  etc.  in  Government  as  well  as  in  private  sector.  The  State  Bamboo Missions (SBM) have been advised to focus on complete utilization of bamboo as a raw material by value addition and waste management as provisioned in the scheme.

National Bamboo Mission has a component of 'Management of Bamboo waste in primary processing units' under the activity of 'Product Development and Processing' which is envisaged for the effective utilization of bamboo waste generated during various processes of the value chain. So far, 34 units of management of bamboo waste in primary processing have been established under the restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) from 2018-19 to 2021-22.

Ministry  of  MSME  is  also  implementing  a  major  credit-linked  subsidy  programme  named Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) for generating employment in the country  by  setting  up  of  micro-enterprises  in  the  non-farm  sector  including  under  Bamboo industry.  Under  PMEGP,  General  Category  beneficiaries  can  avail  of  Margin  Money  subsidy  of 25% of the project cost in rural areas and 15% in urban areas.  For beneficiaries belonging to Special Categories such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, Minorities, Women, Ex-servicemen, Physically  Handicapped,  beneficiaries  belonging  to  North  Eastern  Region,  Hill  and  Border  areas, etc.,  the Margin Money subsidy is 35% in rural areas and 25% in urban areas. The maximum cost of project is Rs.25 lakh in the manufacturing sector and Rs.10 lakh in the service sector. The number of PMEGP units  assisted  under  the  Bamboo  industry  during  the  last  three  years  and  current  year  is given as under:

| Year                      |   No. of Bamboo units assisted |   Margin Money subsidy disbursed (Rs. in lakh) |
|---------------------------|--------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
| 2018-19                   |                            228 |                                         282.17 |
| 2019-20                   |                            264 |                                         290.05 |
| 2020-21                   |                            274 |                                         374.42 |
| 2021-22 (upto 21.03.2021) |                            309 |                                         461.68 |

Besides, Ministry of MSME is implementing Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), to organize traditional industries and artisans into collectives and make them competitive,  provide  sustained  employment  and  enhance  marketability  of  products.  The  scheme supports creation of Common Facility Centers (CFCs), procurement of new machineries, production infrastructure,  setting  up  raw  material  banks,  skill  development  and  training,  market  promotion initiatives,  etc.  Under  this  scheme,  financial  assistance  of  up  to  Rs.  2.5  cr.  is  given  to  'Regular Clusters'  having  up  to  500  artisans,  and  up  to  Rs.  5  cr.  to  'Major  Clusters'  having  more  than  500 artisans.  Major  sectors  supported  under  SFURTI  are  Bamboo,  Honey,  Textiles,  Agro  Processing, Handicraft, Khadi, Coir, etc.

Since 2014-15 till date, 41 bamboo clusters have been approved with Government of India assistance of Rs. 98.64 cr. benefitting 9197 artisans.

******