CHENNAI: A two-day national coir conclave is being held in Chennai from May 5 to devise an action plan to expand the country's coir industry. Attracting manufacturers to make value-added coir products for the domestic market is part of the action plan. According to Coir Board chairman Kuppuramu, another main goal of the conclave is to provide a platform for debate and interaction between the central and state/UT governments on the industry. The principal guest of the 'Enterprise India National Coir Conclave' would be Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane. The board chairman stated that Union Minister of State for MSME Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma would meet with State Ministers and key officials in charge of the Coir/Industries Department. He said the discussions would focus on the concerns, challenges, and possibilities in the coir industry. He said the conference would be a perfect opportunity for representatives to share their creative ideas with the Union Minister and senior officials in the Ministry of MSME. Other topics discussed include the need for increased coconut cultivation and output, increased husk utilisation, value addition in the coir sector, and required coir procurement by the federal and state governments. Tamil Nadu Govt to send rice, milk powder, medicines to Sri Lanka Stalin lauds Jaishankar 'for accepting Tamil Nadu's request' to help Srilanka Tamil Nadu FM urges Centre to remove cesses, surcharges on fuel