Kathua emerging North’s Startup nerve centre: Dr Jitendra
Avtar Bhat
KATHUA, Jan 4: Maintaining that there is now a substantial shift in the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and attributed it to the prevailing peace, stability and public order in the region, Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar today lauded the role played by all three branches of Government including Executive, Legislature and Judiciary in abrogation of J&K’s special status under Articles 370 and 35 A of Constitution, underscoring these provisions as obstacles to democratic governance.
All three branches of the Government unanimously abrogated Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 of the Constitution, thereby fulfilling the dream of Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the Vice President said today.
The Vice President was addressing a function after inaugurating a Biotech Startup Expo here, today, aimed at developing the district along the International Border with Pakistan as a hub for budding entrepreneurs. Click here to watch video
“Congratulations to the Executive led by the Prime Minister, the Legislature — Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha — and the Judiciary. All three unanimously removed Article 370 from our Constitution,” Dhankhar said. With this, the dream of former President of Jana Sangh, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee has been completely fulfilled, he said.
He said Mookerjee had left an indelible mark on this land.
“The land with grave imprints of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the land facing danger, has seen that danger being removed in this era. No one thought that Article 370 would be stamped out. This Article, called temporary in the Constitution, became a curse for us,” Dhankhar said.
Twenty-five Startups, including 11 from Jammu and Kashmir, took part in the expo, titled “Emerging Startup Trends in North India”.
The Vice President also said there is now a substantial shift in the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Today all the things are put in place in modern India. First is harmony and stability. What was the situation at one time? What was the situation in your region? I was a member of Lok Sabha in 1989 and a Minister at the Centre. What was the situation in Kashmir? I came to Kashmir at that point of time. I saw with my own eyes. And today there is a big change,” he said.
He highlighted the drastic positive transformation and cited the recent G20 meeting as an example.
“The representatives of G20 took with them golden moments of their visit to Kashmir. Tourism is increasing here. People are happy. People want to invest here. This is a big change here because peace, stability and public order are here,” Dhankhar added.
He underscored the importance of a unified application of law, stating, “any country and any society cannot move forward until there is a unified application of law. It is imperative to have equality before the law.”
“Some people had such a notion that law cannot do anything to them. They are above law. The hands of law and order cannot reach them. There is a change in India as well as in Jammu and Kashmir. Today it is a reality that nobody is above the law. Everybody would have to be answerable to law’’, the Vice President said.
“The law has reached to the doorstep of those who never thought they would be touched by law. People have understood that it is the process of justice. It is the second biggest change,” he said.
He outlined four fundamental changes, highlighting transparency, accountability in governance, the creation of an ecosystem for youth empowerment, and the significant empowerment of women.
Dhankhar applauded the Government’s efforts in granting women substantial rights and reservations, calling it a “double gain” in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Vice President urged political parties not to obstruct development with divisive politics.
“Development is for all and always above partisan interest. Today, a new ray of light has come into being and the world has faith that India will be Vishwaguru in 2047 while following this path of development,” he said.
Dhankhar highlighted India’s progress across various sectors emphasizing the significant strides in land, water, air and space.
He applauded the robust ecosystem of Research and Development that has become integral to India’s growth.
Highlighting the affirmative steps being taken by the Government in the region, Dhankhar noted that sections of society in Jammu and Kashmir who had earlier been denied their rights and benefits under Government schemes, now have a greater voice in governance and are witness to a transformed scenario.
The Vice-President outlined five parameters or ‘Panchatantra’ that are fundamental to the growth and progress of any nation- peace and stability, equality of law, transparency and accountability in governance, an ecosystem that favours meritocracy, and empowerment of women- all of which, he said, are ground realities in India today.
Expressing his appreciation for the nation’s progress in the domain of biotechnology, the Vice-President made special mention of India’s position as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, having a greater number of unicorns than China. Highlighting the extent of India’s Internet penetration and its great number of digital transactions, Dhankhar also emphasised upon the importance of nurturing a robust research ecosystem for the progress of the country.
In his address, the Vice-President also congratulated the graduating students and awardees of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu, whose 8th Convocation Ceremony he was scheduled to attend earlier in the day. Dhankhar conveyed his regrets for his inability to attend the event owing to adverse weather conditions. The flight had to be rerouted through Pathankot prior to the event in Kathua, owing to the deteriorating weather situation.
Union Minister of Science and Technology, Dr.Jitendra Singh, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr. N. Kalaiselvi and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
Later a delegation of industry representatives & prominent citizens from different walks of life called on Vice-President, here and complimented him for being the first Vice-President to visit Kathua. Sharing their experiences post abrogation of Article 370, the delegation members highlighted the positive changes taking place in J&K since then.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh in his address said that while India is emerging as world leader in Biotechnology, Kathua with North India’s first Biotech Industrial Park is emerging as North India’s StartUp nerve centre.
He said the Biotech ecosystem in the country is emerging at a rapid pace, with more than 6500 start-ups and 75 Bio-incubators set up by Department of Biotechnology (DBT) -Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).
Terming Kathua a sacred land of national heroes and martyrs, Dr Jitendra Singh said the founder president of Jana Sangh, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee who entered J&K via Lakhanpur near here for total merger of the erstwhile State with rest of country and to break the permit system was arrested at Lakhanpur bridge and taken to Srinagar from here where he died under mysterious circumstances.
He said this was his last visit to the State following his mysterious death in a makeshift jail at Srinagar 40 days after his arrest. Dr Jitendra Singh said his dream of Ek Pradan, Ek Vidhan and Ek Nishan was fulfilled by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in 2019 after abrogation of controversial Article 370.
Dr Jitendra Singh further said the discrimination this region was subjected to by previous Governments can be gauged from the fact that the prestigious Shahpur Kandi Project was put in limbo for 40 long years by the successive governments. Out of three rivers including Satluj, Beas and Ravi which were given to J&K under Indus Water treaty, the surplus water of river Ravi was allowed to flow to Pakistan. It was the Modi Government which intervened on Shahpur Kandi and got MoU signed between two riparian States of Punjab and J&K and presently work is going on this prestigious project which will be definitely a game changer for this region.
Dr Jitendra Singh said the Biotech Park at Kathua, Medical College and Engineering College in the area are other prestigious projects which were set up in the district by the present Government besides 200 bridges were constructed on various rivers in the district.
He said Modi Government has never taken up the development works in hand on the consideration of vote bank politics but for greater good of people irrespective of their political affiliations, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh informed that India’s Bio Economy has experienced a remarkable surge of 29 percent, surpassing the significant milestone of $100 billion. The Bio Economy has reached an impressive $137.2 billion in 2022. Each month, India’s Bio Economy has contributed $11.4 billion to the national GDP, Dr Jitendra Singh added.
He said India’s collective efforts and advancements in the Biotechnology Sector underscore the nation’s potential as a global player in the field.
The Union Minister said the innovation ecosystem continues to flourish, and India aspires to become one of the top five Global Bio-manufacturing Hubs, and also among the top 10 biotechnology destinations globally. The rise of Biotech Startups is pivotal for the country’s future economy. These Startups have experienced remarkable growth, increasing from just about 50 in 2014 to over 6,756 in 2022, he said.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that as India moves forward, it is imperative that we now focus on the sustainability and scale up of the innovators and enterprises and continue to provide an enabling ecosystem to ensure that we can create a national and global impact. “The Startups and companies are now getting recognized because of their efforts towards the betterment of the society. We have come a long way in nurturing the talent pool, and providing opportunities to Startups to seed, succeed and scale”, the Minister said.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, “The emerging Biotech ecosystem at Jammu has been supported to nurture the innovation ecosystem in the UT of J&K. This Biotech Park at Kathua is scripting the emergence of a Biotech start-up ecosystem. This has created a good platform for Industry-Academia collaborations.”
The Union Minister said that now is the time to forge broader synergy among all professions to achieve the “Amrit Kaal” goals over the next 25 years. He stated that the next 25 years are very crucial for the country, and when India would be celebrating its 100 years of independence in 2047, the youth of Kathua would be among the great contributors towards making India a ‘Vishwa Guru’.
The Expo witnessed more than 200 delegates participating in the expo and 25 Biotech Startups that showcased their Innovations in different areas of biotechnology. The participating Startups were engaged in solving local problems leveraging local resources such as medicinal plants, aromatic and essential oil-bearing plants for developing therapeutics.
The StartUp Expo also witnessed participation of increasing number of women entrepreneurs who showcased their products and technologies. At least five women led StartUps were present at the Expo.
This one-day event also had closed-door interactions with Industry, academia, Scientists, Entrepreneurs and local Public Representatives.
Representatives from DBT, BIRAC, Autonomous institutes and the scientific community were also present at the event.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
