J&K to be torchbearer of ‘Viksit Bharat’
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Feb 16: Union Minister, with independent charge of Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh today called for awareness among the people to give up “Sarkari Nokri” (Government job) mindset and take up the advantage of ample employment generation opportunities created by Modi Government in private sector under various flagship schemes including Start-ups.
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Delivering the inaugural address at the first-ever three-day International Conference on Traditional Medicine and Phytopharmaceuticals, and the 11th International Congress of the Society for Ethnopharmacology at CSIR-IIIM here, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the private sector provides more lucrative opportunities to the youth who should not hanker for Government jobs as start-ups are promising a bright career to youth with present Government providing all support and assistance to them.
Dr Jitendra Singh said India under Modi is no more a country to be led by others, rather, it is a nation which has taken the mantle to lead the world.
He said India has shed the tag of a fragile economy, and has now emerged as a fertile economy, adding that it is on its course to become a third largest economy in the world.
Referring to PM Narendra Modi’s Viksit Bharat, he said “Jammu and Kashmir has an opportunity to be the torchbearer of Viksit Bharat.”,
Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is for the first time since independence that J&K’s unexplored resources like Aroma and Lithium are being tapped to boost India’s economy. It is evidenced in the Aroma Mission and Purple Revolution which were born in J&K, with the cultivation of Lavender in the townships of Bhaderwah in Doda and Gulmarg in the Kashmir Valley. He said bio Himalayan resources like these will add hugely to the country’s economy in the next two decades.
Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had spoken extensively on the significance of Lavender farming in Bhaderwah in his Mann Ki Baat programme to encourage its cultivation.
The Union Minister said following the Prime Minister’s call, States such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Nagaland have also adopted the model of lavender cultivation, which shows that J&K is proving to be an example whose innovations and best practices are being emulated by other States of the country.
In the same way, India has made a name for itself the world over, with its success stories in the form of the indigenously developed COVID vaccine and much-talked about Chandrayaan Mission, Dr Singh stated.
When the whole world was calamity-hit by the pandemic, Dr Jitendra Singh explained that it provided India an opportunity to emerge as a messiah for the global community as India-made vaccines saved lakhs of lives across the world. Dr Jitendra Singh said, India has earned recognition as a propagator and a brand ambassador, with its traditional medicines and practices like Yoga becoming a panacea, adding that oriental methods of disease management and prevention are no more the only way for cure.
The Union Minister said, at the recent G-20 Summit held in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed establishing a Global bio alliance to promote collaboration and sharing of best practices among the nations.
“PM Modi is India’s brand ambassador who has popularised Yoga, millets and traditional Indian remedies across the world,” he said.
Dr Jitendra Singh underlined that it was the initiative of the Prime Minister to have the UN declare the International Day of Yoga and the International Year of Millets. Calling for collaboration among the emerging agri-start-ups and the industry, Dr Jitendra Singh said now is the time for greater integration, adding that the era of silos is over. He reasoned that India’s success stories, including Covid vaccine, Chandrayaan Mission and Aroma Mission, are the by-products of collaborative efforts between the StartUps and the industry, producers and the market. The Union Minister said the Government has created an enabling ecosystem which must be optimised, he suggested.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that CSIR IIIM Jammu assumed a historical significance in light of its services to the society and the poineering research being conducted in this unique geography by the Institute since last more than seven decades. The Institute under the visionary founding Director Col. Ram Nath Chopra achieved several milestones in modern Pharmacoepia that were furthered and amplied by successive leaders of the Institute and since last more than one year Dr. Zabeer Ahmed has led his scientist and technologists team at the Institute efficiently in the development of the innovative and novel technologies.
Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General CSIR and Secretary DSIR and Padma Shri Prof. Vinod K. Singh, IIT Kanpur were the guests of honour. Present at the session were also Dr.Pulok K. Mukherjee, Director IBSD and Chairman, Scientific Services, SFEC-2024, Dr. DS Reddy, Director CSIR-IICT, Dr. CK Katiyar, CEO Emami Healthcare Ltd. , Dr. RN Acharya, Director General CCRAS, Dr.Subhra Chakraborty, Director NIPGR, Dr.LalHingorani, Managing Director, Pharmanza Herbal Pvt Ltd., Dr. UV Babu, Director R&D Himalaya Wellness Company, Dr. Marco Leonti, Secretary, International Society of Ethnopharmacology beside several other eminent scientific dignitaries.
The conference will have more than 20 scientific sessions. More than 100 distinguished invited speakers, from nearly 20 different countries, including the United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Ghana and India would be delivering their talks. Prominent among them are Prof. Domenico V. Delfino, Università Degli Studi di, Perugia Italy, Dr. Veeranoot Nissapatorn, School of Allied Science, Thailand, Dr. Alexander Shikov, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Formulation, St. Petersburg State Chemical University, Russia, Prof. Rainer W. Bussmann, Department of Ethnobotany, llia Sate University, Tbilisi Georgia, Dr. Julieta Z. Dungca, Dean, School of Science and Technology, CEU, Manila Phillipines, Dr. Marco Leonti, Dept of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Italy, Dr. Liyaqat Ali, Pothkrit Institute of Health Science, Dhaka Dr. Kofi Busia, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Herbal Medicine, Ghana, South Africa Prof. Sitesh C. Bachar, Dept. of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dr. Ashutosh Tripathi, Director, NPS Discovery Core, University of Michigan, USA Prof. Abdur Rashid, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Prof. Samuel Bertrand, University of Nantes, Cedex, France, Dr. Prof JN Eloff, University of Pretoria, South African, Prof. Michael Heinrich, UCL School of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, London, Prof. Thomas Efferth, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, Prof. Mogna S Rajagopal, Dean of Pharmaceuticals Sciences, Malasiya Eden Joy P. Alata, School of Science and Technology, University Manila, Filipino. Nearly 700 participants from all over India have registered for this mega event.
The conference is being organized under the overall supervision of Dr. Zabeer Ahmed, who is also the organizing Chairman for this International Conference with assistance from Dr. Prasson K. Gupta and Dr. Naveed Qazi as organizing secretaries for the conference.
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