Centre asks rubber industry to work out details of national rubber policy

The Centre is considering formulation of a national policy rubber on the lines of national policies for petroleum, textiles and IT. In a meeting with rubber industry delegation, development commissioner for rubber in the Ministry of Commerce J S Deepak has asked the industry to work out the details of the policy.

“The government has welcomed our suggestion of having a national policy for rubber. In the next few months, the industry will hold consultations with all the stakeholders including growers, machinery manufacturers, synthetic rubber producers, manufacturers, importers, exporters and educational institutes and a draft report will be submitted”, said Niraj Thakkar, president of All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA), who headed the delegation to the Ministry of Commerce.

According to AIRIA, rubber is a sunrise industry in India with immense potential for growth if policy enablers are put in place. A national policy on rubber is critical to optimize the potential of the sector. “We are awaiting suggestions from Sheela Thomas, chairman of Rubber Board, as a key stakeholder, on the national rubber policy with a view to giving direction to the industry’s efforts”, added Thakkar.

According to him the government is supportive of increasing import duty on finished rubber products to address the challenge of inverted duty structure. AIRIA had asked for urgently increasing import duties on finished rubber products to enable local units particularly the SMEs face the challenge of fast growing cheaper imports.