Vasco: In a major push to position bamboo as a key driver of India’s green economy, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with the Konkan Bamboo and Cane Development Centre (KONBAC), Dhananjay Bioenergy Private Limited and Phoenix Foundation Sanstha to advance bamboo valorisation, clean energy solutions and sustainable industrial materials.
The collaboration seeks to transform bamboo into a viable industrial and energy crop, aligned with the National Bamboo Mission, and tap into nearly 14 million hectares of land in India suitable for bamboo cultivation.
It aims to bring together farmers, academia, industry and government agencies to promote sustainable livelihoods and environmentally responsible industrial growth.
Under the MoU, the partners will jointly undertake research and innovation in bamboo-based carbon products, specialty chemicals, composites and engineered materials.
The initiative will also focus on developing process technologies, standards, SOPs, prototypes and pilot-scale solutions, along with skill development, training programmes, internships, rural entrepreneurship and technology transfer for commercialisation.
The MoU was signed by Pasha Patel, executive chairman of the Chief Minister’s Task Force on Environment and Sustainability, Government of Maharashtra, and Director of Phoenix Foundation Sanstha; Sanjeev Karpe, director, KONBAC; Prof Suman Kundu, director, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus; and Dhananjay Kandakure, Chief Technology Officer, Dhananjay Bioenergy Private Limited.
The signing took place in the presence of Prof Shibu Clement, Associate Dean of Research and Innovation, and Prof S D Manjare, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering.
The mission-mode programme has been conceptualised by Prof Abhishek Sharma, with contributions from Prof Sharad Sontakke and Prof Mrunalini Gaydhane.
