Increasing industrial use of rubber vital: Anand Sharma

Says country would slip to fifth or sixth positions if industrial and commercial use of rubber was not enhanced

Increasing the industrial and commercial use of rubber is important for sustaining the domestic cultivation and enhancing self-reliance of this crucial raw material, Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said today.

He said India now stood at the fourth position in the industrial use of rubber, after laying the foundation stone for the Rubber Park at Pirvanthur in the district.

The country would slip to fifth or sixth positions if the industrial and commercial use of rubber was not enhanced, he added.

He said facilities such as rubber parks were meant to promote rubber as an important raw material for a variety of industries.

A joint venture of the Rubber Board and Kerala's infrastructure agency Kinfra, the 50-acre facility involves a total outlay of Rs 36 crore and the Centre has sanctioned Rs 6 crore for the development of its first phase.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Union Minister of State for Labour Kodikunnil Suresh were also present.