National Bamboo Mission (NBM)

What is the National Bamboo Mission?

The National Bamboo Mission (NBM) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare that develops the bamboo value chain in a cluster-based hub-and-spoke model. NBM was first launched in 2006-07 as a plantation-focused scheme, subsumed under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture in 2014-15, and restructured and re-launched in 2018-19 to cover the whole chain from planting material to finished product.

The restructuring followed a legal change. In 2017 the Government of India amended the Indian Forest Act, 1927 so that bamboo is no longer classified as a tree. Bamboo grown outside forests stopped being forest produce, and farmers became free to cultivate, harvest and transport it like any other agricultural crop. According to the NBM operational guidelines, the scheme is currently implemented in 23 states and 1 union territory.

Objectives

• Increase the area under bamboo on non-forest land, both government and private, to supplement farm income and secure raw material for industry.
• Improve post-harvest management through primary processing units, treatment and seasoning plants near production areas.
• Support product development, R&D and entrepreneurship at cooperative, micro, small and medium levels.
• Aggregate growers into FPOs, FPCs and SHGs and link them with markets and financial institutions.
• Reduce dependence on imported bamboo and bamboo products.

The guidelines record that India's bamboo and rattan industry was valued at Rs 28,005 crore in 2019, and that bamboo exports rose to Rs 1,163.34 crore in 2023-24 against imports of Rs 530.50 crore, giving a trade surplus of Rs 632.84 crore.

Who is eligible for the National Bamboo Mission?

You can apply if:

• You are an individual farmer planting bamboo on your own field, homestead, community land or arable wasteland: assistance is available for up to 10 hectares.
• You are an FPO, FPC, society, SHG or farmers' group. Plantation of up to 10 hectares each per member can be carried out by these bodies on private or public land.
• You are an entrepreneur or MSME setting up a nursery, treatment and seasoning plant, common facility centre, furniture or handicraft unit, charcoal unit, food processing unit or bamboo board plant.
• You are a Scheduled Tribe beneficiary holding an FRA patta, in which case subsidy is 90% as per PM Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan norms.
• You are a government agency, R&D institute or BTSG, which receive 100% assistance for approved activities.

You cannot apply if:

• You want to plant bamboo on forest land. The NBM plantation component is limited to non-forest government land and private farmers' fields.
• You want subsidy on private plantation above 10 hectares per person, the guidelines say plainly that no subsidy will be provided beyond that.
• You expect a cash grant with no work attached. NBM assistance is a subsidy against verified plantation or an installed unit, and maintenance money is linked to survival percentage.
• You approach a central office directly. Beneficiary selection is done by the State Bamboo Mission; the NBM cell at the Centre does not enrol individual farmers.

Marginalised, tribal and landless applicants who face difficulty getting a bank loan may be brought into the scheme through BTSGs or empanelled agencies on the basis of a DPR submitted to the State Bamboo Mission.

What documents are required for the National Bamboo Mission?

How to apply for the National Bamboo Mission

1. Contact your State Bamboo Mission or State Bamboo Development Agency at the state nodal department, or the district-level officer of that department.
2. Check whether your activity is in the state's annual action plan for the year, since NBM is demand-driven and target-bound.
3. Submit the application with land records, Aadhaar and bank details. For a processing, nursery or manufacturing unit, attach a detailed project report.
4. The District Level Agency, with officials from industries, agriculture or horticulture, forest and rural development departments: compiles proposals and sends them to the State Bamboo Mission for appraisal.
5. Arrange bank credit if your component falls under Credit Linked Back Ended Subsidy. Credit linkage is optional for projects up to Rs 30 lakh, where subsidy is released in two instalments into a TRA, escrow or SRF account after a satisfactory joint inspection by the State Bamboo Mission and the bank.
6. Buy certified planting material from an accredited or approved nursery and plant at the recommended spacing. All plantations must be geo-referenced or geo-tagged.
7. Receive the subsidy, for plantation, spread over two years in a 60:40 split, with maintenance money linked to survival.

How much benefit does the National Bamboo Mission provide?

Plantation and propagation

• Bamboo plantation: cost norm Rs 1.20 lakh per hectare with a minimum of 400 plants per hectare, or Rs 300 per plant for boundary plantation at 5-metre spacing. For NE states the norm is Rs 1.30 lakh per hectare. Assistance is 100% for the government sector and 50% for the private sector up to 10 hectares over two years (60:40).
• Integrated plantation with drip irrigation: same cost norm plus the cost of drip irrigation as per PMKSY-PDMC norms.
• Stock improvement: Rs 30,000 per hectare once in five years to 100% for government, 50% for private limited to 2 hectares per beneficiary.
• Hi-tech nursery (2 ha): Rs 60 lakh, at 100% for the government sector and 50% for the private sector; minimum 50,000 plants per hectare a year.
• Big bamboo nursery (1 ha): Rs 20 lakh; small nursery (0.5 ha): Rs 10 lakh, at 100% government and 50% private, minimum 30,000 plants per hectare.
• New tissue culture nursery: Rs 250 lakh per unit, 100% for the public sector and credit-linked back-ended assistance at 40% for the private sector.

Accreditation of each nursery or TC lab is mandatory within 18 months of the last instalment.

Primary processing and aggregation

• Treatment and seasoning plant: indicative cost Rs 25 lakh — 100% government, 50% private.
• Common facility centre or processing unit: Rs 50 lakh to 100% government, 50% private.
• Bamboo depots and godowns: Rs 60 lakh to 100% government, 25% private.

Innovative interventions and manufacturing

Indicative costs run from Rs 18 lakh to Rs 500 lakh depending on the activity: Rs 18 lakh for jewellery making, Rs 25 lakh for handicrafts and lifestyle products, Rs 30 lakh for furniture making and bamboo food processing, Rs 40 lakh for value-addition processing units, incense stick making and charcoal or biochar units, Rs 60 lakh for fibre and fabric extraction, and Rs 500 lakh for bamboo board, mat, corrugated sheet, tile, laminate, particle board and OSB units. The private sector gets 50% of cost for component projects up to Rs 1 crore and 30% above Rs 1 crore, capped at the indicative cost.

Tools and market infrastructure

Trained artisans and successful trainees of the State Bamboo Mission or premier bamboo training institutes can receive 100% of the cost of a tool kit up to Rs 20,000 per person and bamboo machinery up to Rs 2 lakh per person. Bamboo mandis carry an indicative cost of Rs 120 lakh and bamboo bazaars or retail outlets Rs 25 lakh, with 25% assistance in the private sector. A Centre of Excellence in the bamboo value chain can be funded up to Rs 10 crore at 100% for the government or public sector.

For all components, the cost norm is 10% higher for North Eastern states.

How is the National Bamboo Mission structured?

At the national level the Mission runs through a Project Management Unit and an Executive Committee. Technical support comes from Bamboo Technology Support Groups, the North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council in Guwahati, ICFRE Dehradun and the Kerala Forest Research Institute at Peechi, which advise states, recommend species, run training and carry out R&D.

At the state level, a State Level Executive Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary or Agriculture Production Commissioner approves the annual action plan, and the State Bamboo Mission under a Mission Director implements it. At the district level, a District Level Agency compiles proposals and oversees activities.

Help and grievance redressal for the National Bamboo Mission

• State Bamboo Mission / State Bamboo Development Agency, the operative contact for applications, inspection and subsidy.
• NBM portal: nbm.da.gov.in lists headquarters and state-wise contacts and hosts the operational guidelines.
• Kisan Call Centre: 1800-180-1551 for general agricultural queries.

Because NBM works through state action plans, the components open in your district in any given year are decided by the State Bamboo Mission. Confirm the approved component and the current cost norm with the district nodal officer before you plant or place an order.