Ms Sheela Thomas, Chairman, Rubber Board, has announced a cash award of Rs 5 lakh to those who develop a mechanised rubber tapping device.
The Board will also take up further research required for its development and commercialisation, in collaboration with the inventor. Individuals / organisations who have successfully developed working models could apply for the award.
The designers should contact the Director, Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII), Kottayam, 686009, with the prototype of their working models before August 21.
The Board has come forward with this decision as a part of its ongoing efforts to bring about technological innovations in the field of tapping and to address the problem of shortage of skilled tappers in the sector.
The selected designers will have to present their models and demonstrate them before an expert committee constituted by the Board. A mechanised tapping knife that can even be handled by unskilled people can make revolutionary changes in the harvesting of rubber. Efforts are under way in many of the rubber producing countries to develop such a mechanised device.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.