India’s tyre giants have come together to back rubber farmers, launching a new initiative called ISPEED under a broader project named INROAD.
To boost production, improve quality, and fix rural infrastructure gaps in rubber-growing regions — especially in the Northeast and West Bengal.
ISPEED stands for INROAD Skilling and Production Efficiency Enhancement Drive. Quite a mouthful, but here’s what it really means: farmers will get training, better tools, and help setting up infrastructure to make rubber sheets that meet higher quality standards.
This includes 3,000 new smokehouses and an equal number of sheet rolling machines — all aimed at helping small-scale rubber growers produce better material and possibly earn more.
The ₹1,100 crore initiative is being funded by members of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), which includes big players like Apollo, CEAT, JK Tyre and MRF. These are the same companies that use the rubber in their tyres, so their interest isn’t just charity — it’s also about securing better raw material for their products.
The project will be implemented by the Rubber Board of India.
Out of the total investment, ₹145 crore has been earmarked for a five-year effort focused specifically on farmers in the Northeast and parts of West Bengal. Around two lakh small-scale farmers and nursery operators are expected to benefit.
The plan includes modern training programmes and infrastructure upgrades that could make rubber farming more viable in regions that haven’t always had the best support.
According to figures shared as part of the INROAD project, rubber cultivation is already catching on in the Northeast. Over the last four years, around 1.36 lakh people have started rubber farming in that part of the country.
ISPEED now aims to build on that by ensuring the quality of rubber matches market expectations.
This is the first time that tyre manufacturers in India are directly stepping in to support rubber production at this scale.
While the move seems to benefit both farmers and the tyre industry, it also raises interesting questions about whether more private industries could play a similar role in securing their supply chains by investing at the grassroots.
