Bamboo Cultivation

Introduction

Diminishing resources and availability of forest wood and conservation concerns have
highlighted the need to identify substitutes for traditional timbers. It is in this
context bamboo assumes special significance.

Bamboo is a versatile, strong, renewable and environment-friendly material. It is a member

of the grass family, Gramineae and the fastest growing woody plant on earth. Most bamboo
species produce mature fibre in 3 years, sooner than any tree species. Some bamboos grow
up to 1 metre a day, with many reaching culm lengths of 25 metres or more. Bamboo can be
grown quickly and easily, and sustainably harvested in 3 to 5 years cycles. It grows on
marginal and degraded land, elevated ground, along field bunds and river banks. It adapts to
most climatic conditions and soil types, acting as a soil stabilizer, an effective carbon sink
and helping to counter the greenhouse effect.

In many areas, bamboo resources have dwindled due to overexploitation and poor
management. This issue needs to be addressed through well-organised cultivation, on the
lines of homestead, small-holder and plantation-based cultivation. The role of bamboo in
community agro forestry as a means of generating income for the rural poor is very
important.

Production of bamboo is only the starting point. The real benefits accrue from value-added
products. Handicrafts (mats, baskets, tools, toys and utensils) and furniture are established
possibilities, produced in finished form or supplied as components to small enterprises for
further processing (for example, supply of mats for production of bamboo mat board). There
are emerging industrial and large-scale applications too in the manufacture of wood
substitutes and composites, energy, charcoal and activated carbon. Building and structural
components represent vast possibility for enterprise, value addition, income and
employment.

Bamboo and Global Challenges

Bamboo is well placed to address four major global challenges :

Shelter security, through the provision of safe, secure, durable and affordable housing and
community buildings.

Livelihood security, through the generation of employment in planting, primary and

secondary processing, construction, craft and the manufacture of value-added products.

Ecological security, by conservation of forests through timber substitution, as an efficient

carbon sink, and as an alternative to non-biodegradable and high-embodied energy materials
such as plastics and metals.

Food security through bamboo-based agro-forestry systems, by maintaining the fertility of

adjoining agricultural lands, and as a direct food source – example, edible bamboo shoots.
Planning Commission's Focus on Bamboo

Bamboo, traditionally considered as the "poor man's timber" in India, is under consideration
as a major export item by the Indian Government for a global market valued at Rs.500 billion
(US$ 11.9 billion) and producing as much as 20 million tonnes of varied products a year from
China alone.

India almost 20 years behind China in commercial production produces only 3 million tonnes
a year. The government has lately come to regard bamboo as an easily manageable export
item that provides high yields, has lots of uses and has the potential to provide employment
for millions, and thus stem rural workers flight to India's teeming cities.

Between them, India, China and Myanmar have 19.8 million hectares of bamboo reserves –
80 percent of the world's bamboo forests. Out of this India's share is 45 percent, with nearly
125 different species of the plant, but only 4 per cent of its global market. The government
would like to see its bamboo industry, concentrated in the northeast of the country, take 27
percent of the world market by 2015. By that time, the market is expected to be Rs.950
billion.

India's aspirations are ambitious indeed. The government hopes to create 8 million jobs in
the bamboo industry, lifting 5 million families out of poverty and earning Rs.160 billion in
revenues by the end of its Tenth Plan in 2007. The government also hopes to slow the flight
of rural workers to urban areas, a major problem. Job losses and low pay for day workers in
national forests affect large populations, where the government forestry departments manage
over 9.61 million hectares of mostly natural bamboo stands.

In this backdrop the Planning Commission of India had launched the National Mission on
Bamboo Technology and Trade Development. The objectives of this Mission were to launch
several initiatives to place bamboo as a key species and research in the developmental
agenda. The principal objectives are :-

To use Bamboo as a means to reclaim degraded land, conserve soil, improve environment,
carry out drought proofing. Bamboo plantation could be an important ingredient in Greening
India Programme aiming at raising of the forest cover to 25% by 2007 and 33% by 2012;

To expand area under Bamboo plantation by 2 million ha. in the Tenth Plan – (1 million ha.
in forest areas and 1 million ha. in areas outside forests) and overall 6 M.ha. in the Tenth and
Eleventh Plan;

To improve, yield and stabilize the existing bamboo plantation;

To diversify, modernize and expand the bamboo based industries and handicrafts by
application of modern technology and provide policy and financial support;

To use Bamboo development as an instrument of poverty alleviation and employment

generation particularly in rural sector;

The Planning Commission, Govt. of India took note of the market survey carried out by the
Cane & Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC), Guwahati and have accordingly focused on the
following :

Bamboo as food (Bamboo Shoots);

Bamboo as a wood substitute (Bamboo Plywood, Bamboo Flooring, Bamboo Pulp, Bamboo
Furniture, Bamboo as a building and construction material, Bamboo Housing, Bamboo in
tiny and Cottage Industries, Bamboo Mats Industry etc.)

Among the key initiatives launched by the National Mission on Bamboo Technology and
Trade Development is "Manpower Development and Training". Human Resource
Development implies upgradation of skills of craftspersons as well as growth of
entrepreneurship.

Bamboo Cultivation practices in India

Occurrence: Bamboo belongs to the grass species and hence forms part of the same family
of flowering plants viz. Gramineae to which human beings’ most important staple food
plants, rice and wheat belong. Various estimates limit bamboos to about 1250 species under
75 genera which are thought to have made its first appearance about 200 million years ago.
The plant now occurs in the tropical, subtropical and temperate zones of all regions except
Europe and Western Asia. Recent findings have revealed that bamboo was prevalent in
Europe some 3 million years ago but vanished sometime during the last ice age.In India the
Rigveda has mentioned bamboo and hence it must be in use for 4000 years.

Bamboos in India: India is blessed with very rich bamboo resources. With about 22 genera
and 136 species, it is one of the largest resources of bamboos, next only to China with 26
genera ad 300 species. The areas particularly rich in bamboo are the North Eastern States,
the Western Ghats, Chattisgarh,M.P. and Andaman Nicobar Islands. The important genera
are
Arundinaria, Bambusa, Cephalostachyum, Dendrochalamus, Dinochloa, Gigantochl
oa, Melocanna, Ochlandra, Oxytenanhthera, Phyllostachys, Pseudostachyum etc. Of nearly
136 species, at present only about 10 are being commercially exploited today. These are:
Bambusa arundinacea, B.affinis, B.balcooa, B.tulda, Dendrocalamus strictus,
D.hamiltoni,D.asper, Oxytenanthera stocksii and O.travancorica. Bamboo production in
North Eastern India on commercial lines would be an excellent tool for poverty alleviation
and employment generation.

Growth and biomass: Bamboo has two main growth forms due to different types of
rhizomes: the leptomorph type with single stem, (monopodial) mainly in temperate region
and the pachymorph type as dense clump stands, (sympodial) mainly in the warm regions. In
India majority of bamboos are clump type e.g. Dendrocalamus and Bambusa. However in the
north eastern regions, some non clump forming species are present, e.g. Melocanna baccifera
with creeping rhizomes.

Bamboo, being a grass produces only one stem without any later secondary growth in height
and diameter, as most trees do. Its full length of 15-20 mts,( up to 40 mts in Dendrocalamus
giganteus, the largest bamboo species ) is attained within a period of 3-4 months.
Thereafter,only branch development continues.Thus, bamboo, being very fast in growth
produces an enormous amount of biomass within a very short time. It is estimated that in 35
years, a bamboo plant can produce up to 15 km of usable pole of 30 cm diameter. Its light
weight , high elasticity and rupture make bamboo an ideal material for housing
construction in areas prone to natural calamities such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The
tensile strength of bamboo is greater than steel. Such growth has resulted in high expectations
in the world especially to store CO2 and to produce larger amount of material and energy.
However there is a limitation. Whereas fast growing trees like Eucalyptus, Acacia, Albizzia
and Radiata pine (Pinus radiata) produce their biomass continuously for many decades, a
bamboo ceases leafy growth after its stem elongation within 3-4 months. The new biomass
comes only in the next year when new shoots (culms) are produced. Commercially important
species usually mature in 4-5 years and thereafter harvesting is possible every alternate years.
Most of the bamboos have hollow stems, except few which are almost solid viz. D. strictus
and B. affinis.

Yield and Harvesting: The annual yield in tonnes/ ha depends on the environment as well as
the species. It is generally 3-4 tons/ha as understory in forest and 5-12 tons/ ha from
plantations. In the drier parts of India, well managed and technology based D.strictus
plantations give yield of 10 tons/ha. Melocanna bambusoides in moist Bangladesh has
produce 10-13 t/ha yield. Well managed monoculture bamboo plantations in China yield up
to 50 ton per/ha/year. It is estimated that almost 25% of the biomass in the tropics and 20% in
the subtropics, come from bamboo.

Cultivation: Bamboos are generally propagated vegetatively, although they are best raised
through seeds. Seedlings are raised in nursery beds and allowed to develop for a year in poly
pots after which they are transplanted in the field. As bamboo seeds are rarely available, they
are propagated through rhizomes or culm cuttings. In rhizome planting, one year old culms
with roots are dug up, cut to about a metre high and planted during rainy seasons. Vegetative
propagation of bamboos is an age old method and is practised everywhere. While planting the
rhizomes, the workers should take extra care not to injure the junction of the culm and the
rhizome. Irrigation is necessary after planting.

Projects approved/ sanctioned

Today thousands of hectares of forest land are being planted with bamboo by Forest
Development Corporations and Forest Departments in all Indian States. NABARD in 2003
sanctioned a very big bamboo plantation project to Andhra Pradesh Forest Development
Corporation for development of degraded forest lands.In 2004 it sanctioned 2 bamboo
plantation projects for production of pulpwood in Assam for development of non-forest
wastelands. International agencies like INBAR is engaged in promoting bamboo plantation
and bamboo industrial projects in many Indian states.

Bamboo flowering: Most bamboos flower only once in their lifetime, and die soon after.
Bamboo flowering is a mystery to scientists. Probably they have an in built alarm clock set to
go off at a particular time with all populations of a species raised from a single seed source
flowering simultaneously no matter where situated. Melocanna flowered in 1961
simultaneously in Assam and Dehradun, 2000 kms apart. The flowering cycle generally
varies from 7-120 years and in some the interval is 3 years and a few may even flower
annually. Some bamboos however have never been observed to flower e.g. (B.vulgaris).B.
nutans having the longest flowering cycle of 120 years need promotion for planting.

Opportunities: Demand- Supply scenario

India’s bamboo based industries are likely to make a quantum jump if proper policies are put
in place and implementation procedures are streamlined. Country’s bamboo economy is
expected to grow by over 15% to touch Rs. 260,000 million by2015. The National Mission
on Bamboo Technology and Trade Development under the Planning Commission, has
estimated that if proper encouragement is given to bamboo cultivation and it’s use, it can
replace the projected import of timber to the tune of Rs.300,000 million in the next 20 years
i.e 2025.The market size for bamboo plywood is to grow to Rs. 5000 million from Rs. 2000
million in 2001.The country exports about Rs. 1000 million bamboo flooring materials and
another flooring materials of Rs. 1000 million is used domestically. It has been estimated that
the total market size of bamboo flooring materials will rise to Rs. 19500 million by 2015. The
demand for bamboo pulp is expected to grow to Rs. 20880 million by 2015 from Rs. 1000
million in 2001. The demand for bamboo furniture is expected to grow to Rs.32650 million in
2015 from Rs.3800 million in 2001.By 2015 bamboo scaffolding requirement will rise to
Rs.8610 million and for housing purposes the demand will rise to Rs.11630 million. The
demand for road construction will rise to Rs.2740 million and for bamboo grids the demand
will be Rs. 1000 million.The demand for miscellaneous industry viz, ice cream sticks,fire
crackers,bamboo lathis and ladders will rise to Rs. 6000 million by 2004.

Bamboo shoot production

The planning commission has estimated that the Indian bamboo shoots industry has the
potential to grow at the rate of 25% per annum and capture a market worth Rs. 3000 million
from the current level of Rs. 48 million.A large potential export market exists for shoots in
Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.The International Network for Bamboo and
Rattan (INBAR) has selected 6 species which are most suited for development of bamboo
shoot industry in India. These are: Bamboosa balcooa, Dendrocalamus giganteus, D.
hamiltonii, D. strictus and Melocanna bambusoides.

China is the largest exporter of bamboo shoots and Phyllostachys pubescens is the common
species for shoot production, while in Thailand Dendrocalamus asper is the main species for
bamboo shoot production.

Model Bamboo Plantation Scheme For North-East India:

Soil: Most Bamboos are found in sandy loamy to loamy clay soil, derived form river
alluvium or underlying rock. Although bamboos prefer a well drained soil, it is observed to
grow even in swampy soils. The soils of Barak valley vary from clay to clay loam to sandy
loam and soil reaction is acidic with ph of 4..5 to 6.0 A luxurious growth of bamboo is a
common feature and therefore, the soil and climatic conditions are best suited for cultivation
of bamboo.

Species: The north east region hosts 58 species belonging to 10 genera. The common
bamboo in Barak Valley is muli bamboo (Melocanna bambusoides) and jati bamboo
(Bambusa tulda). Presently, the bamboo which procured by the paper mill now proposes to
raise the nursery using the species, Bambusa bambos and Dendrocalamus strictus. The
reason for preference of these species is non availability of seed of Bambusa tulda. The
required seedlings for the first year programme of 750 acre is already available in the nursery
of Cachar Paper Mill.
Planting : There are various methods of propagating bamboo through seed and vegetative
methods. The vegetative method is mainly through rhizome. Although, for early income
generation, rhizome as planting material is desirable, due to non availabililty of rhizome in
large quantity for developing as high as 1000 hectare is a constraint. Therefore, seedlings
will be used as planting material in the present project. The planting will be taken up with the
onset of monsoon. Pits of 60 cm X 60 cm will be dug and the seedlings will be planted at a
spacing of 5m x 4m. The number of plants per acre is 200. A provision has been made for
casualty replacement to the extent of 20%.

Intercropping :The gestation period in bamboo plantation is five years. During the first three
years, it is possible to cultivate profitable intercrops such as turmeric, ginger, chillies etc. and
various shade loving medicinal and aromatic plants.

Fertilisation: The application of fertiliser is most important during transplantation from

nursery to main field. Bamboo is a heavy feeder and therefore, even a rich soil might become
depleted after a few years if no fertiliser is added. The fertilisers although may be applied at
any time in a year, it is preferred to apply after harvest and before irrigations. It should be
noted that rhizomes continue to be active (growing)except in the coldest part of the year. It is
therefore proper to apply small quantities of fertilisers round the year thanone/two large
doses. Bamboo responds well to nitrogen and potassium which are found in compost, green
manure, wood ash and chemical fertilisers. Lime is often applied to neutralise soil acidity.

Harvesting and yield :The annual yield of a bamboo clump depends on the number of new
culms produced each year. This in turn is related to the production of young culms. Culms
become mature after two to three years. To maximise shoot output some shoots must be left
each year to develop into leafy young culms. It is reported that bamboo clump on an average
produce 10 culms in a year under good growing conditions. Considering a 30 year of life
cycle one clump may produce 300 culms on the whole.

The harvesting can be done from fifth year onwards, however, for commercial production,
harvesting will start from sixth year. In the first year of harvest i.e. sixth year, 6 culms per
clump will be harvested followed by 7 in seventh year, 8 in eighth year and 9 from ninth
year onwards. The culms which are one or two year old are generally left for regeneration.
Considering the average weight of a culm at 10 kg, the yield in the first year of harvest is 9.6
tonnes per acre, which will stabilize at 14.4 ton by ninth year.

Financial aspects:

Unit cost: The unit cost for one acre of plantation is Rs. 9400 spread over a period of five
years. The various estimates for arriving at the unit cost are given below ( Table 1).

Table 1:Unit cost for raising 1 acre bamboo plantation on wastelands

S.No Items Units 1 II III IV V Total

year year year year year
Material
1 Planting material including 20% 200 40 240
mortality replacement in second year
2 Manure and 320 320 320 320 320 1600
fertilizers
 3 Plant protection LS 100 100 100 100 100 500
4 Irrigation thrice a Rs. 400 per 1200 1200 2400
year irrign
5 Fencing Rs. 6 per rm 960 960
Sub total 2780 1660 420 420 420 5700
Labour mandays 0
1 Land preparation 5 250 250
2 Digging of pits , 10 500 100 600
refilling of pits @
15pits/manday
3 Planting and staking 5 250 50 300
4 Plant protection 2 100 100 100 100 100 500
5 Weeding(thrice in 5 250 167 417
first year and twice
in second year - 4
MD per weeding)
6 Pruning from third 5 0 0 250 250 250
year
7 Soil working and 2 100 100 100 100 100 500
others
8 Harvesting - 10MD 10 0
in 6th and 7th year,
12MD 8th year
onwards
Sub total 1450 517 450 450 450 3317
Contingency 5% 212 109 44 44 44 451
Grand total 4442 2286 914 914 914 9468
Say 4400 2300 900 900 900 9400

Income

Harvesting commencesfrom sixth year onwards. The sale price per tonne of green bamboo is
considered at Rs. 550 (present rate). The income details are given below(Table 2)

Table-2:Yield and Income of bamboo plantations

Year Yield (Metric Ton) Income(Rs)

VI 9.6 5280
VII 11.2 6160
VIII 12.8 7040
IX onwards 14.4 7920

Financial analysis

The project is financially viable at the above expenditure and income levels. The financial
indicators for one acre bamboo plantation are given below(Table 3)

Table-3 - Financial analysis for cultivation of bamboo in one acre

NPV : Rs.6890

BCR : 1.64

IRR: 26%

Repayment period/Interest rates

The bank loan is considered at 90% of the unit cost i.e. Rs. 8,460/- since 10% of the cost
shouldbe borne by the farmers.Income generation from the activity commences from sixth
year onwards. The interest accrued during the gestation period will be deferred.The rate of
interest to the ultimate borrowers will be decided by the financing banks which is subjected
to revision by RBI/NABARD from time to time. The repayment of principal with deferred
interest will be for four years i.e 7-1Oth year of plantation (Table 4).

Table 4: Repayment schedule for 1 acre bamboo plantation

Model Bamboo plantation scheme for Tripura

Table 5:Cost of cultivation of bamboo (Kanak Kaich- Bambusa affinis) on private /

community lands in Tripura state :

Espacement: 1.25m x 1.25 m Wage rate:Rs.50 per MD

No. of culms per Acre: 2564 Casualty replacement: 10%

Survival/Acre : 2051 Planting season: April / May

Sr. Particulars of work Unit Cost Rs.

No. per year

1 2 3 Total
1 Site preparation 4 MD 200 - - 200
2 Thorn / Live hedge 500 - - 500
fencing
3 Digging of pits 20MD 1,000 - - 1,000

(1 cft) and mixing

insecticides
4 Cost of insecticides/ 200 200

Pesticides
5 Cost of plant (rhizomes) Rs.3/-per 7,692 768 - 8,460
(2564+256=2820) rhizome
6 Planting/replanting (100 25/2 1,250 50 - 1,300
rhizome per MD)
7 Weeding cum soil 10/3/2 500 300 200 1,000
working
 8 Protective irrigation 500 - - 500
9 Pruning / tending / 10/10/10 500 500 500 1,500

cleaning etc
96 MD 12,342 1,618 700 14,660

Yield and returns

Years No. of culms to be harvested Income @ Rs.5/-per culm

2 1,500 7,500
3 2,000 10,000
4 year onwards 2,000 10,000

Economics of Bambusa affinis in one acre

(Amt.Rs.)

Years 1 2 3 4 5

Cost 12342 1618 700 0 0

Benefits 0 7500 10000 10000 10000

Net Benefit -12342 5882 9300 10000 10000

PWC @15% 12415.88

PWB @ 15% 22935.54

BCR 1.85

IRR 53.52%

Model Bamboo Plantation Scheme for rest of the country

Table 6: A model scheme for Bamboo cultivation in India

COST OF BAMBOO CULTIVATION ON PRIVATE LANDS / COMMUNITY

LANDS

ESPACEMENT : 6M x 6M WAGE RATE : Rs 50 / MD

NO.OF CLUMPS/ACRE : 110 CASUALTY REPLACEMENT : 20%

SURVIVAL/ACRE : 88
Yield: Harvesting Schedule

Years Culm per clump Total culm Income @

Available Rs.10 per culm
5 4 352 3520
6 6 528 5280
7 8 704 7040
8 onwards 10 880 8800

N.B: * 1) Intercropping can be taken up depending upon the nature of farmlands and the
inputs available.

2) Since, incomefrom intercropping is insignificant the same has not been considered
while calculating economics.

3) Cost beyond 4th year has not been considered since the project will start generating
income from 5th year onwards.

4) IRR works out to 25.49%

Annexure-1

NABARD’s Bamboo Development Policy

NABARD has recently formulated a Bamboo Development Policy to give real thrust to
develop the sector with an integrated approach.

The major objective is to commercialise Bamboo at farmer’s level. All along bamboo has
been considered as a poor man’s crop.It is high time we put bamboo into industrial pedestal
with appropriate tie-up arrangements with bamboo based industries viz.paper,handicrafts and
the new emerging areas of eco-friendly products e.g. housing,tiles, flooring,bamboo shoots
etc.

The focus would be comprehensive development of bamboo resources as a marketable

commodity with more emphasis on farmlands especially revenue wastelands.The planning
commission approach for Agroforestry development through bamboo will be followed.A
linkage of bamboo farmers with bamboo artisans will also be made. Besides, wherever
feasble bamboo projects will also be promoted for development of degraded forest lands.

The above approach would broaden our interventions / business opportunities significantly as
there is huge untapped potential in wasteland development under Farm forestry/
Agroforestry. Besides, inadequately managed bamboo forests and bamboos after
flowering can be covered under JFM approach / co-financing etc.

Emphasis would also be made to promote quality bamboo plantation projects assisted by
NABARD for higher productivity and better returns. Use of clonally propagated seedlings
and Tissue cultured plants will be advocated for improving quality and productivity.
Goals of the Policy

The major goals for bamboo development would be proper use of available bamboo
resources for value addition,creation of new technology based plantations, efficient
marketing, new product development through technology upgradation, institutional
development/strengthening,design support leading to economic upliftment of rural people.

Financing Models:

NABARD will promote and fund Bamboo projects under the following models:

1. Setting up of Bamboo nurseries for quality plant production including Tissue Culture
plantlets

2.Wasteland development model through BAMBOO under Farm Forestry

3.Bamboo based Agroforestry model

4.Tie -up arrangement with bamboo based industries including handicrafts

5.Cluster development for Artisans and Craftpersons for bamboo product development
including marketing

6. Funding under RIDF -JFM model

7. micro-Finance through NGOs under SHG model wherever feasible

NABARD’s strategy

In order to realize maximum benefits from marketing bamboo products, NABARD will adopt
the following approaches:

1) Establish supply chain from the farmer’s field to large industries viz. paper,wood
sustitute,plyboard, flooring,furniture etc. to improve market position. Through this
arrangement , industrial farms can have easy access to bamboo raw material at competirive
cost on parternership basis. NABARD will see that the business partners provide local
producers with high quality planting materials,provide technical guidance, quality control and
a buy- back guarantee arrangement including arranging finance wherever feasible.

2) Assist in developing small scale Forest enterprises for using Farm-forest bamboos

3) Assist the entrepreneurs in improving product quality, use of improved machines,

tools and releiability for continuous and uninterrupted supply to market chain.TIFAC /IIT-
Mumbai has developed effective machineries/ tools for harvesting, cross cutting,splitting,
knot removing and processing of bamboos by artisans and small scale industries. NABARD
will try to popularise these tools especially to the artisans.

4) Strengthen producer organizations especially the handicrafts sector for easy access to
local market.The focus would be on design development, technology upgradation and market
facilitation to augment the capabilities of artisans. The handicrafts sector is intimately linked
to tourism sector. Hence, promotion of this sector is critical for economic growth of rural
areas.

5) Imparting training to the entrepreneurs in association with INBAR, CBTC,NEDFI, etc.,

through workshop/ seminar to be held regularly in potential regions of the country.

6) Remove regularity barriers especially for free movement of bamboo produced from
farmer’s fields.

Review of Private Plantation Companies & Follow up action by SEBI:

Recently private investments are forthcoming from companies raising plantations with or
without involving public equity. As such this is a welcome effort to meet the objectives laid
down in National Forest Policy. However, the promises made by such companies are
apprehended to be unrealistic. Hence, it is essential to look into the claims made by these
companies to prevent exploitation of investors as well as to provide adequate safeguards that
the investment raised are properly utilised and the confidence of investors in afforestation
activities does not get a jolt.

Therefore, Ministry of Environment and Forests constituted an inter departmental committee

to study the growth rate and Economics of private plantation companies and to ascertain the
truth behind their claims.

On the basis of the detailed analysis of the data collected, technical information available, and
observations, the committee made strong recommendations. Based on these, SEBI has
cautioned the investors through a public notice which may be followed.