India Rubber Meet 2015, a two-day conclave of stakeholders of rubber industry, got under way here on Wednesday with a call to Indian rubber industry to become globally competitive.
Former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation G. Madhavan Nair, who inaugurated the meet, said the significance of natural rubber would continue for years to come and suggested ways for the Indian industry to become globally competitive. Value addition, increasing productivity and mechanisation held the key to competitiveness, he said. Satellite imaging provided a lot of scope for identifying areas suited to rubber cultivation, he added.
Dr. Nair released a book on Rubber Producer Societies (RPS), marking the 25 years of the RPS. He handed over a copy of the book to Salmiah Ahmad, Director General of Malaysian Rubber Board.
A. Jayathilak, Chairman of Rubber Board, said the basic strength of the Indian rubber industry was the synergy between well-established rubber production sector and the fast-growing products manufacturing sector.
The theme of IRM 2015 is Finite Resources, Infinite Opportunities, covering the entire gamut of the rubber sector. World Bank’s senior economist John Baffes was among the first to make a presentation at the meet on Wednesday. He spoke on the outlook for commodities in the immediate future.
NR initiative
Frank Grothanus, UNCTAD consultant, spoke on sustainable development and low carbon growth. He said the recently-launched sustainable NR initiative would go a long way in establishing the green image of natural rubber.
Charu Kapoor of Tata Strategic Management spoke on the problems confronting non-tyre sector and called for duty rationalisation and upgradation of technology.
Speakers at Thursday’s sessions include Salmiah Ahmad, Stuart Cook, Director of Research, Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre, the U.K., Shashank Tripathi, Executive Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers India and A.K. Krishnakumar, Executive Director, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services, New Delhi.