With an annual turnover of over Rs 760 crores in 2010, rubber cultivation in the Northeastern States has emerged a major player in the economy of the region. By the end of the XIIth Plan in 2016-17, an additional 60,000 hectares of land will be brought under rubber cultivation giving a big boost to the rural economy of the region. The major expansion programme in the North East has already been approved by the Government of India as scope for further expansion in the traditional growing areas in Kerala and Tamilnadu is extremely limited. As the demand for rubber in the country continues to grow at a rapid pace, tremendous possibilities have opened up for the region as over 4.5 lakh hectares of land has been identified as suitable for rubber cultivation by the Rubber Board. Only about one lakh hectares of land in the region has so far been brought under rubber cultivation.