The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has been requesting the government to lift the ban on bamboo charcoal so that the bamboo can be used optimally. KVIC chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena wrote to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal regarding this in February 2022.
In India, Bamboo is used to manufacture agarbatti. 16% of the bamboo is used for manufacturing bamboo sticks, whilst the remaining 84% go to waste. Saxena had suggested that converting this waste to “Bamboo charcoal” would be great, even though it has limited use in the domestic market, but it has huge demand in the international market.