Coir Board signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, to establish a “Centre of Excellence (CoE) for the application of Coir exclusively or in combination with other natural fibres”. IIT Madras has earlier certified the research studies carried out by Coir Bard and other agencies in India on Coir Geo-Textiles (CGT). The institute has recommended the use of Coir Geo-Textiles (CGT) to check soil erosion in slopes/embankments, river embankments, mine slope dumps stabilization and also as a re-enforcement material for low volume rural roads.
Coir Board shall initially provide a financial assistance of Rs. 5 crores for a period of two years for setting up and running of the Centre of Excellence. The CoE aims to promote the research in coir sector with the support from IIT Madras. The centre shall support technology development, evolve standard for production and processing, monitor research projects, mentor Coir Board’s research institutes/laboratories, assist in generating the Intellectual Property Rights and technology transfer.
The centre shall focus on research and development in twenty seven identified areas of Coir Industry and ten in-house projects of IIT Madras which are related to machinery development and road projects.
