Expanding Bamboo Industry instead of an IIM
During his brief stopover at Dimapur, to lay the foundation stone of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal has conveyed the right message: development strategy for the Northeast region need to be formulated keeping in mind its unique ecosystem and “in tune with its natural wealth”. The other important point he mentioned was on the need to empower the youths of the State. It was in this context that the Union Minister was not too enthused with the plea of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio asking for establishing an Indian Institute of Management (IIM). The argument of Mr Sibal was that an IIM may not directly benefit young Nagas and also that having a “world class institute like an IIM will need a huge eco-system to support the faculty and student community”. What we will have to understand, coming from the observation of policy makers in Delhi, is that Nagaland will be better off by evolving a development model that is in tune with the needs and relevance of our local milieu. And this actually makes sense and we need to rediscover where our strength lies or what the resources we possess are and how we can exploit them to our advantage.
Mr Sibal made a mention of the bamboo resource available and the need to build on this industry. So instead of having an IIM at Hovokhu Village under Niuland sub-division as is being proposed by the CM, how about asking for funds from Mr Sibal’s HRD Ministry for setting up something like an Indian Institute of Bamboo Research, Education, Application and Industry. This is also in tune with what Mr Sibal mentioned: for India to increasingly differentiate itself from China in terms of the country’s comparative advantages in specific sectors and carve out a niche for Indian excellence in these sectors. Rather than having an IIM installed, Niuland would be better off with an institute related to Agro-forestry. The land is suitable for growing bamboo. Naga farmers will benefit not only from knowledge but also there will be ready available buyer/market for their produce. It will also be a training ground for developing skills in bamboo application, which our youths can learn besides having such an institute will create jobs.
With the Union HRD Minister on record as stating that it “would be very difficult for Nagaland to be an industrial state…but the state with its richness in terms of its natural wealth and reserves can try and develop institutions in the context to that richness instead of trying to replicate what is happening in other parts of the country”, the State government should use this argument by putting up a fresh proposal for an institute that caters to the needs of our people and one that builds on the comparative advantage that we have. With our State government already having a comprehensive bamboo policy, which envisages promotion of bamboo both as a resource and an enterprise, and also the advantage of having a well functioning Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency (NBDA), we need to go all out in expanding our Bamboo industry. Mr Sibal is absolutely correct when he says that we need to develop our strengths instead of imitating others. With Nagaland, especially Dimapur likely to be hub, a bridge, in the east-west trade corridor between India and its Southeast Asian neighbors we need to get such feasible projects off the ground soon.
