Manufacturing units planned in northeast States for vegan leather developed by CSIR-NIIST

Manufacturing units will be established in the northeast States for the plant-based vegan leather developed by the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) in Thiruvananthapuram.

CSIR-NIIST on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR), an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, in this regard. NIIST described the MoU as a significant step towards promoting sustainable technologies and a circular economy in the northeast.

“The MoU facilitates the transfer of CSIR-NIIST’s plant-based vegan leather technology to NECTAR for establishing common facility centres and manufacturing units in Meghalaya and other northeast States. These centres will support farmers, MSMEs, and women-led self-help groups in converting agro-waste into high-value sustainable products,” NIIST said.

NIIST director C. Anandharamakrishnan and NECTAR director Arun Kumar Sarma exchanged MoU documents in the presence of CSIR director general N. Kalaiselvi at the CSIR Headquarters in New Delhi. By harnessing locally available agro-waste, the partnership aims to promote regional entrepreneurship, create jobs and foster environmentally-responsible manufacturing practices in the northeast region.

Dr. Kalaiselvi said there is a pressing need to address the growing agro-waste challenge in northeast India. Agricultural residues such as rice straw, banana and pineapple waste are typically discarded or burned, leading to air and water pollution, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss, she said.

NIIST said its technology provides a sustainable solution by converting this biomass into plant-based leather, replacing 50–70% of the chemicals used in synthetic leather and significantly reducing the environmental footprint of the leather industry. The initiative, it said, is aligned with national missions such as Atmanirbhar Bharat, Make In India, Innovate India and Swachh Bharat.