Cabinet approves restructured National Bamboo Mission

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Bamboo Mission (NBM) under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) during the remaining period of Fourteenth Finance Commission (2018-19 and 2019-20).

The Cabinet Committee was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital.

The mission is to ensure holistic development of the bamboo sector by addressing complete value chain and establishing effective linkage of producers (farmers) with industry.

CCEA has also approved Empowerment of Executive Committee for the formulation of guidelines of the NBM and to make the changes therein, including cost norms for various interventions from time-to-time as per the felt needs and specific recommendations of States, with the approval of Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

The scheme will benefit directly and indirectly the farmers as well as local artisans and associated personnels engaged in the bamboo sector including associated industries. Since it is proposed to bring about one lakh ha area under plantation, it is expected that about one lakh farmers would be directly benefitted in terms of plantation.

The Mission will focus on the development of bamboo in limited states where it has social, commercial and economical advantage, particularly in the North Eastern region and States including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The mission is expected to establish about 4000 treatment and product development units and bring more than 100000 ha area under plantation.

NBM was initially started as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in 2006-07 and was subsumed under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) during 2014-15 and continued till 2015-16.