The Rubber Board is a statutory body constituted by the Government of India, under the Rubber Act 1947, for the overall development of the rubber industry in the country.
Commercial cultivation of natural rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) was introduced in India by the British. Although the experimental efforts to grow rubber in India were initiated as early as 1873 at the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta, the first commercial Hevea plantation was established at Thattekadu in 1902. The importance of rubber production in India from strategic and security reasons had been realized by the then government during the Second World War period. The rubber growers in India were encouraged to produce the maximum rubber required for the use during war. After the war, there were growing demands from the growers for setting up a permanent organisation to look after the interests of the industry. The government set up an ad-hoc committee in 1945 to study the situation and to make appropriate recommendations. On the recommendation of the ad-hoc committee, the government passed the Rubber (Production and Marketing) Act, 1947, on 18th April 1947, and the “Indian Rubber Board” was constituted forthwith. The Rubber Production and Marketing (Amendment) Act, 1954, amended the name of the Board as “The Rubber Board”.
