Srinagar, June 12 -- India's relationship with fibre is civilisational, 5,000 years deep, woven into our villages, our traditions, and our collective identity. From the legendary muslins of Mohenjo-daro, celebrated as "woven air", to the craftsmanship that travelled across continents, fibre has always been the lifeblood of our rural economy. Today, at the cusp of a global sustainability revolution, that ancient knowledge is our greatest competitive advantage.

For decades, the banana pseudostem was discarded as waste. Today, that same biomass is premium fibre, feeding export markets, sustaining rural livelihoods, and turning agricultural residue into national revenue. From waste to wealth, from local abundance to global opportunity: this ...