Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav presented India’s first PRAMAAN forest-certification certificates on Tuesday under the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme.

The first recipients include the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation, covering about 33,000 hectares of plantations, and Govind Mohapatra of the Odisha Bamboo Development Agency, recognised for sustainable bamboo farming.

PRAMAAN — short for Promotion of Research and Accreditation for Management of Agroforestry and Natural forests — certifies deforestation-free, sustainably managed timber and wood sourcing. Officials say the scheme will help Indian wood products meet global sustainability benchmarks.

The government expects the certification to open new export opportunities for certified timber while encouraging farmers and forest corporations to adopt sustainable practices.

India has been developing its own forest-certification framework for years, arguing that international schemes do not always fit the country’s agroforestry and smallholder realities. PRAMAAN is designed around Indian conditions, and officials hope it will eventually be recognised by global buyers.