<p style=”margin-bottom: 13px; text-align: center;”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><b>SOURCE &ndash; THE HINDU</b></span></span></span></p>

<p style=”margin-bottom: 13px; text-align: center;”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><b>GS PAPER- 3</b></span></span></span></p>

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<p style=”margin-bottom:13px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><b><span style=”line-height:115%”>CONTEXT</span></b><span style=”line-height:115%”> – Every year, the World Bamboo Day is celebrated by the World Bamboo Organization on 18th September.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style=”margin-bottom:13px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><b><span style=”line-height:115%”>ABOUT</span></b><span style=”line-height:115%”> &ndash;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style=”margin-bottom:13px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”line-height:115%”>&bull; The tallest grass on earth at its smallest could be among the cheapest immunity boosters for increasing the human body&rsquo;s resistance to viral attacks</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style=”margin-bottom:13px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”line-height:115%”>&bull; The bamboo, considered the grass of life in the northeast, takes care of almost every requirement from birth to death</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style=”margin-bottom:13px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”line-height:115%”>&bull; Bamboo shoots are emerging as high-value and safe edibles and growing in utility globally along with all other value-added bamboo products. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p style=”margin-bottom:13px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”line-height:115%”>&bull; The protein content in fresh bamboo shoots, considered as nutraceutical, can range between 1.49-4.04%. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p style=”margin-bottom:13px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”line-height:115%”>&bull; They also contain 17 amino acids, eight of which are essential for the human body.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style=”margin-bottom:13px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”line-height:115%”>&bull; Bamboo has been a key ingredient in new antimicrobial soaps and hand mists developed by Filipino scientists to fight the novel corona virus</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style=”margin-bottom:13px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><b><span style=”line-height:115%”>GOVERNMENT MEASURES TO BOOST BAMBOO PRODUCTION</span></b></span></span></span></p>

<p style=”margin-bottom:13px”><span style=”font-size:11pt”><span style=”line-height:115%”><span style=”font-family:Calibri,sans-serif”><span style=”line-height:115%”>National Bamboo Mission, India has the highest area (13.96 million hectares) under bamboo and is the second richest country after China in terms of bamboo diversity with 136 species. The annual production of bamboo in India is 14.6 million tonnes and the bamboo-rattan industry in the country was worth ₹28,005 crore in 2017.</span></span></span></span></p>