In an exclusive AgroSpectrum interview, Pasha Patel, Chairman of the Maharashtra State Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, outlines why Maharashtra’s new Rs 25,000-crore Bamboo Industrial Policy marks a historic turning point in India’s green industrial transition. He explains how bamboo is shifting from a cottage-sector material to a strategic industrial resource, backed by ADB’s Rs 4,300-crore investment and the state’s decision to transition all thermal plants to bamboo pellets.

Patel emphasises that demand is far from the challenge—over 25,000 industrial applications signal massive appetite, and Maharashtra is now racing to expand plantations for a new bio-industrial economy. He argues that bamboo’s engineered strength rivals teak and even mild steel, but India must close its technology gap to compete with China’s Rs 3.2-lakh-crore bamboo industry. Calling for a “Kalpavriksha mindset,” Patel says bamboo can power green steel, ethanol, engineered wood, bioplastics and more—if India changes its vision and recognises bamboo as the cornerstone of its climate-era industrial future.

Maharashtra recently announced a Rs 25,000-crore Bamboo Industrial Policy—arguably the most ambitious bamboo-led green industrialisation plan in India. What structural shift makes this moment ripe for such a bold intervention ?

Maharashtra has finally recognised that bamboo is no longer a cottage-sector commodity but a scalable industrial input capable of transforming both the green economy and rural incomes. This policy marks a significant shift, making Maharashtra the first Indian state to position bamboo as a strategic industrial asset. The response from global institutions reflects this confidence: the Asian Development Bank has already committed nearly Rs 4,300 crore for bamboo-linked value chain development in the state.

The Chief Minister’s declaration that all thermal power plants in Maharashtra will transition to bamboo-based pellets is equally consequential. It signals a decisive move toward decarbonisation at a time when science has left little room for incrementalism. The IPCC’s 2015 report categorically stated that eliminating coal-based thermal power is essential if humanity is to have any chance of avoiding catastrophic climate risk. Bamboo offers a practical pathway—rapidly renewable biomass that can be integrated into thermal energy generation without destabilising the grid.

This policy is not about one product or one industry. It is an ecosystem approach that links green steel to bamboo biochar, activated charcoal to processed bamboo fibre, and a wide spectrum of downstream sectors such as engineered wood, bamboo-based methanol and ethanol, and circular-economy manufacturing.

The philosophy behind it is simple but powerful: “kisaan urjadata banega”—the farmer will become an energy producer. And the ecological dividend cannot be overlooked. Bamboo, one of the fastest-growing plants on the planet, acts as an exceptional natural carbon sink. With nearly 50 per cent of its biomass composed of carbon, bamboo locks away significant volumes of CO₂ through rapid photosynthesis and long-term sequestration.

A single fully matured Beema bamboo culm can absorb more than 450 kilograms of carbon dioxide annually—an extraordinary contribution to climate mitigation achieved through a naturally regenerative process. In parallel, this carbon capture cycle releases up to 320 kilograms of oxygen per plant each year, enough to meet the annual breathing needs of an average adult.

Maharashtra’s vision to create an 11-lakh-hectare bamboo forest will not just generate rural industries but shift the state’s carbon balance at scale.

Some critics argue that the demand for bamboo is too small to justify massive expansion of plantations. What is your strategy for scaling raw material availability ?

The fundamental truth is that demand is not the constraint—supply is. Since announcing the industrial policy, Maharashtra has received more than 25,000 applications from industries seeking land partnerships or plantation-linked supply chains. The challenge now is to expand bamboo cultivation rapidly and systematically. This requires a mix of farmer-managed plantations, industry-developed blocks tied to pellet units and engineered wood factories, and expansion of bamboo in forest and wasteland areas through scientific silviculture.

Financing remains central to this transition, and the state is actively building blended capital models, industrial partnerships, and R&D funding mechanisms that will make bamboo cultivation viable at commercial scale.

India can also draw valuable lessons from the Eastern region. The Numaligarh project in Assam, has created India’s first successful bamboo-to-ethanol model. This is a 2G bio-refinery in Assam that uses bamboo as a non-food biomass to produce bio-ethanol, acetic acid, and furfural. It is the world’s first second-generation bamboo-based bio-ethanol plant, established by Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and inaugurated in September 2025.

Global shipping norms are eliminating fuels with 0.2 percent sulphur content and methanol derived from bamboo biomass presents a compliant, low-emission alternative. Bamboo-based ethanol, in particular, has been shown to reduce industrial CO₂ emissions by nearly five percent when integrated into manufacturing and logistics systems. Maharashtra intends to tap into exactly these opportunities. This is not merely a plantation project—it is the foundation of a new bio-industrial economy.

Engineered wood and green materials are gaining popularity worldwide. But how does bamboo’s competitiveness truly compare to traditional materials like teak or steel ?

The perception that bamboo is weaker or less durable than conventional materials is not only outdated—it is scientifically incorrect. Teak has less than half the density of modern engineered bamboo composites. When processed through lamination and densification, bamboo exhibits a strength-to-weight ratio comparable to mild steel. The limitation has never been the inherent material properties of bamboo; it has always been the lack of industrial processing technologies in India.

China is the clearest evidence of what is possible. With nearly five million hectares of dedicated bamboo plantations and a bamboo industry valued at over Rs 3.2 lakh crore, China has demonstrated the competitiveness and scalability of bamboo-based industrial ecosystems. Ironically, India has even greater natural bamboo coverage, but the country has lagged in value addition due to limited investment in technology, logistics, design, and processing.

If India takes this opportunity seriously, bamboo can become a viable alternative to wood, plastic, aluminium, certain petrochemical derivatives, and even low-grade steel in some applications. But this requires transparent execution of the National Bamboo Mission, strong industrial partnerships, and a focused technology revolution in processing, engineered wood manufacturing, fibre composites, pyrolysis systems, and biorefinery development. Maharashtra’s policy, if implemented effectively, can bridge precisely this technology deficit.

Transformations of this scale also require a strong consumer and market push. What does the market strategy look like? How do you plan to shift perception and drive adoption?

Market creation begins by shifting the narrative. Consider the bamboo toothbrush—simple, biodegradable, and instantly recognisable as a sustainable alternative. It demonstrates how quickly consumer perception changes when a product is functional, aesthetic, and climate-friendly. But the ambition must go far beyond niche products.

What we need is a “Kalpavriksha mindset”—a view of bamboo as a multi-purpose industrial raw material that can shape everything from fuel to furniture, from textiles to construction, from packaging to chemicals. Bamboo’s versatility allows it to play roles across industries that traditionally depend on timber, fossil fuels, or high-emission materials.

The market strategy therefore hinges on repositioning bamboo not as a handicraft input, but as a climate-era industrial resource. That means securing anchor industries, establishing clear carbon-accounting frameworks, creating modern product design ecosystems, and ensuring strong visibility in both domestic and global markets. Consumers will adopt bamboo products not because they are alternative, but because they are competitively superior, technologically advanced, and environmentally aligned. Vision drives markets—and to unlock bamboo’s potential, India must change the angularity of its vision.

— Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com)