Chief patron of IRC-98 and chairman and managing director of the Madras Rubber Factory (MRF) limited, KM Mammen Mappillai, in his keynote address, asserted the need for a `relook' at the whole concept of R&D in India. `It is imperative that we have to spend more on R&D. As of now, only one per cent of the turnover is being spent on R&D as against five to seven per cent in advanced countries'.

Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi, who inaugurated the conference, the first to be held in India, said with improved tyre quality and the global competition in the market, the tyre manufacturers in India could create a record in the international market.

He said currently, Indian rubber industries enjoyed an export market of Rs 1,250 crore. This was less thanone per cent of the country's total exports. There was considerable scope for improving the export performance.

Karunanidhi said India ranked fourth among the largest producers of natural rubber, next to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Rubber occupied over one-fifth of the cultivated area in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, that too in southern districts of the two states.

He said the overall production of natural rubber was 6.50 lakh tonnes in India while the consumption was 7.80 lakh tonnes. The shortfall was being met from imports. The global recession in economy, slow industrial growth with synthetic substitutes had affected consumption of natural rubber. 'this is only a temporary phenomenon and the overall demand is likely to go up in course of time', Karunanidhi said.

Mammen Mappillai pointed out that nearly 90 per cent India's production of natural rubber came from south India.

Rubber Board could play an important role at improving inter-action between growers and consumers on maintaining the price ofnatural rubber at a reasonable level, acceptable to both the growers and the consumers.

There were only two synthetic rubber manufacturing units in the country now. India needed more such units for its growth. Merely adopting foreign technology would not serve the purpose and `We need to improve and innovate our own technologies to be successful', Mappillai said.

Secretary general, International Rubber Conference Organisation (Irco), London, June Hawkins, in her address, stressed the need to come out with `proposals' so that the rubber industry in the world registered a growth.

Managing director of JK Industries Limited, RP Singhania, the guest of honour, said the Indian rubber industry registered a growth of only four per cent last year, much less than the figure of eight per cent registered over the last many years. The per capita rubber consumption in India was only 0.75 kg, as compared to nine and 12 kg in Japan and US respectively.

India today needed technological upgradation to face improvedproductivity and global competition. Due importance should be given to development of relevant technology suitable for India besides promotion and development of relevant polymers for Indian conditions, Singhani said.

Chairman of Indian Rubber Institute, Calcutta, D Bose, chairman of IRC-98, Zachariah George, also addressed.

The conference is jointly organised by London-based Irco and Indian Rubber Institute, Calcutta.

Earlier, Mappillai inaugurated an exhibition.