Sam Pitroda launches CIC in Tripura for bamboo

Agartala, Aug 7 : National Innovation Council (NIC), chaired by Prime Minister s advisor on innovation Sam Pitroda, today launched a Cluster Innovation Center (CIC) for cultivation and value addition of bamboo here. NIC would operate CIC in partnership with the Tripura Bamboo Mission to initiate an innovation movement in the country and to showcase the use of innovation as a platform for growth and development of bamboo sector on a multi-stakeholders approach. The CIC was launched in a three-day national seminar on bamboo cultivation and value addition began here last evening, which would be a cell to act as the networking hub of the cluster and to outline various activities leading to innovation in products, services, business models in the cluster, said State Forest Minister Jitendra Chowdhury. The CIC will be a catalyst and play the role of a facilitator for seeding and supporting innovation in bamboo sector in Tripura and that will really be an innovation in the country, Chowdhury said, adding that the state government had already formulated a multi-prong strategy to increase bamboo cultivation at individual level and value addition in both individual and cluster levels. He, however, pointed out that the conference was attempted to focus on farm to market approach for bamboo sector development and it would provide a platform for convergence and synergy among the various stakeholders from across the country for the development of bamboo sector. As many as 400 participants, including 100 outside dignitaries comprising with senior officials from different institutions, reputed scientists and industrial users have taken part in the conference to interact with the representatives of panchayat raj institutes, SHG federations, master artisans and joint forest management members of Tripura to promote bamboo cultivation and value addition. In the wake of gregarious flowering of the dominant bamboo species Melocanna Baccifera (Muli) in the Northeast, the conference has also hold a separate technical session on the various aspects of bamboo propagation, plantation, cultivation and scientific management. Besides, the experts had expressed concern over rampant consumption of bamboo shoots as food item in Tripura and they have suggested to launch massive campaign on the market potential for value added bamboo products and opportunities for promotion of livelihoods in bamboo sector.