Natural Rubber occupies an important position amongst the critical raw materials required for growth of manufacturing industry in India. The total turnover of rubber based industries in India is estimated at Rs 110,000 crores in 2021-22, with the export realisation estimated Rs 30,000 crores.

India is one of the few countries which has a complete NR value chain – i.e. it produces NR as well as its value added products. Tyre industry is the major consumer of NR in India as it utilizes over 70% of the total NR produced in the country. It is estimated that by 2030, the country would require about 20 Lakh tonnes of NR per year. The current NR production in India is in the range of 7-8 Lakh tonnes per year. At present, nearly 40% of the NR requirement is met through imports and the NR demand–supply gap continues to be high since 2012-13.

But given the importance of such strategic raw material, uncertainty in the global markets and risks associated, the country needs to focus on increasing the domestic NR production to become self-reliant and avoid dependence on import of this critical raw material. The production of NR in India is highly concentrated in few areas:

1. Traditional regions (Kerala, Tamil Nadu);
2. North Eastern States (Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland);
3. Other Non traditional states (Karnataka, Maharashtra).

The traditional areas account for 3/4th of the national production with Kerala alone accounting for 73% of total NR production in India. With annual production at around 74,000 tones, Tripura is 2nd largest producer of NR with its share standing at over 10%.

With traditional areas attaining saturation in terms of land availability, there is a need to expand production in non-traditional areas like the North Eastern states