Rubber Sector

1.Introduction:

Natural rubber is the most important cash crop in Tripura. Since its introduction in 1963 by the State Forest Department, Tripura has become 2nd largest producer of natural rubber in the country, after Kerala, accounting for about 9% of the total production of India. Tripura also has the second largest rubber growing area in the country, after Kerala.

Rubber Plantation is initially taken up as a livelihood generation for the tribal people of Tripura. There are 2 (two) PSUs of the State Government namely, Tripura Forest Development Plantation Corporation Ltd. (TFDPC) and Tripura Rehabilitation Plantation Corporation Ltd. (TRPC) working for growth of Rubber Plantation and Rubber Sector in Tripura.

The State Government has identified rubber plantation as the priority area for livelihood generation and the Industries & Commerce Department, Government of Tripura has declared rubber based industries as “Thrust Sector” for investment.

 

      a. Plantation Characteristics: 

  1. Total area under plantation: 85453.63 hectares
    • As per the study of LBSS & LUP, an ICAR organization located in Nagpur under Ministry of Agriculture, the maximum area that can be brought under Rubber in Tripura is 1 lakh Ha only. So, we are almost reaching the saturation point in terms of area.
  2. Yield:
    • 1350 Kg/Hectare, as compared to the Kerala average of 1553 Kg/Hectare.

  3. Number of Rubber Growers: over 1,00,000        

    b)    Production of Rubber in Tripura:
    •    Total rubber production:     83701.23 MT.

    c)    Primary Processing of Rubber:  
    •    About 99% of the natural rubber produced in Tripura is processed into different marketable forms like sheet rubber, Indian Standard Natural Rubber (ISNR) / Block Rubber and Centrifuged latex (Cenex).

    d)    Group Processing Centre: 
            There are 208 Group Processing Centres (GPC) in the state out of which     96 nos. are in RPS sector. The state-run-corporations, TFDPC Ltd. and     TRPC Ltd. have 58 and 54 GPCs respectively.

    e)    Central Processing Unit:

    There are two Central Processing Units, jointly promoted by the RPSs, Downstream Partner & Manimalayar Rubbers. They are constantly producing higher grades of sheet rubber.
     

 

2.Rubber Smoke Houses:

  • In Tripura, out of total rubber production of about 83,000 MT per annum, about 99% of the natural rubber is processed into different marketable forms like sheet rubber, ISNR and Cenex.
  • While, only 30% of the sheet rubber produced in Tripura is graded sheet, the rest is ungraded sheet, which is fetching lower rate due to inferior quality. The present rate of Rubber is as follows:
  • It is possible to increase the quality of graded sheet RSS-III, RSS-IV and RSS-V in Tripura from existing 30% to 80%, provided the smoke houses are upgraded scientifically besides sufficient infrastructure development for processing of field latex and smoking of sheet rubber is made available.

 

     Scheme Guideline :

  • In view of this, separate Model Projects are prepared for funding under different Self Employment programmes like Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Swabalamban and also providing subsidy through the State Incentive scheme under “Tripura Industrial Investment Promotion Incentive Scheme (TIIPIS)”.
  • Implementation of the Scheme is being done through the District Industries Centres as per the prevailing guideline of PMEGP and Swabalamban.
  • Based on the inputs of the Banks on the viability aspects, beneficiaries/Groups having holding area of 3 ha, 5 ha and 7ha have been considered under this scheme.
  • Subsidy available under Swabalamban is 30%; under PMEGP is 35%; and subsidy under TIIPIS is 40% of total fixed cost.
  • Individual beneficiary may prefer to avail PMEGP or TIIPIS, while Groups/Societies may apply under Swabalamban/JLG. However, final discretion would remain with DICs and Banks.
  • Total 1000 projects have been targeted. For Guideline please click here.
  • Promotional material
  • Relevant Link : Rubber Board