NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Coir Board will together establish a “Centre of Excellence (CoE) for the application of coir exclusively or in combination with other natural fibres”, said an MSME statement.

The agreement was signed on Thursday.

The CoE will work in the area of developing relevant technology, monitor research projects and mentor Coir Board’s research institutes and laboratories. It will also assist in generating the Intellectual Property Rights and technology transfer.

Coir research

It was at the instance of Nitin Ghadkari, union minister of MSME that IIT Madras had validated the research work undertaken by the coir board and other agencies in India on Coir Geo-Textiles (CGT).

The institute thus recommended the use of CGT in the low volume rural roads as a re-enforcement material for prevention of soil erosion in slopes, river embankments, mine slopes.

The CoE aims to go ahead with the research work further, with the help of experts in IIT Madras. The Coir Board will provide financial assistance of Rs five crore initially for two years for the establishment and running of the Centre of Excellence.

The Centre will work in 27 areas of research and development needs of the coir industry. The centre will also work for ten in-house projects of IIT Madras in machinery development and road projects.

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