Adopt Cultivation of Improved Varieties of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to Enhance the Income: Dr Harsh Vardhan

Dhirendra Kumar
News Curator cum Moderator
Indian Botanists

The Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Harsh Vardhan, and Vice President, CSIR has urged the farmers and entrepreneurs engaged in cultivation, processing of medicinal and aromatic plants to adopt improved technologies and improved varieties for raising their income. Speaking at a Kisan Mela (farmers’ fair) organized at CSIR-Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants CSIR-CIMAP in Lucknow today, he said, this would also help in production of quality raw material demanded by user industries.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan addressing the farmers

The Minister said that medicinal and aromatic plants are the valuable green wealth of the country. These should be sustainably used for creating livelihood opportunities of poor people residing in rural areas. He also said that there are immense possibilities for promotion of production of medicinal and aromatic plants and industries by startups. Dr Harsh Vardhan called upon the scientists to develop improved technologies for conservation and cultivation of these plants keeping in view the changing climatic conditions and limited as well as diminishing agriculture resources. He said that farmers should be apprised regularly about the new developments being made in the research laboratories by organizing awareness meets, workshops and farmers fairs in different parts of the country.

Dr Harsh Vardhan lauded the efforts made by CSIR-CIMAP in reaching the unreached and said that these efforts be given a new push for making visible impact by creating new avenues for self-employment in rural sector. Expressing his satisfaction on development and release of improved varieties of essential oil bearing lemongrass and anti-malarial drug-producing artemisinin-rich Artemisia annua by CSIR-CIMAP, the Minister pointed out that participation of user industries should be ensured for promotion of each aromatic and medicinal plant so that poor farmers and entrepreneurs should not face difficulty in marketing of their produce.
 

 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan giving a plant to a farmer

Dr Harsh Vardhan further said that today people are inclined towards the use of drugs and cosmetics made from natural resources as ill effects have been reported from the use of synthetic drugs world over. It is also necessary to make initiatives to improve trust of the people towards herbal drugs he added. The Minister said that scientists should standardize the ayurvedic drugs so that their use can be increased in health care of the poor people. Dr Harsh Vardhan also emphasized the need for development of such plant varieties which can withstand vagaries of nature and can be grown in stressed soils ensuring utilization of large tracts of waste lands available in the country.

Other major events organized on the occasion of CIMAP Kisan Mela included interactive meet with farmers and entrepreneurs on the production and marketing of medicinal and aromatic plants, sale of publications and high quality planting material of mint, aromatic grasses and other medicinal plant varieties developed by CIMAP, demonstration of improved plant varieties and herbal products, live demonstration of distillation/ processing using CIMAP’s improved units, training on rose water and flower-based agarbatti making, demonstration of ‘Early Mint Technology’, integration of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) in traditional cropping system. A unique pilot-scale herbal product manufacturing unit ‘Technology Business Incubator Centre (TBIC)’ was also inaugurated by the chief guest Dr Harsh Vardhan. In TBIC, various machines have been installed to facilitate manufacturing of creams, gels, shampoo, oils, face wash, floor mopping liquid in approx. 100 Kg batch size. The TBIC will help the technology users and entrepreneurs to manufacture the herbal products based on CIMAP technology. This will also serve as an incubator centre for the startups.
 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan meeting the farmers, at a Kisan Mela

The Minister was accompanied by Shri Naveen Chandra Bajpei, Deputy Chairman, State Planning Commission, UP and Shri Praveer Kumar, Agriculture Production Commissioner, UP, Dr. Sudeep Kumar, Head Planning and Performance Division of CSIR, Dr R. A Vishwakarma, Director, CSIR-IIIM, Dr(Mrs.) Madhu Dikshit, Director, CSIR-CDRI, Dr CS Nautiyal, Director, CSIR-NBRI, Dr Alok Dhawan, Director, CSIR-IITR and Prof. AK Tripathi, Director, CSIR-CIMAP.

Representatives from various industries such as IPCA Laboratories, Jindal Drugs, Herbochem Industries, AIMIL Pharma, PIRINIC Pharma, AMORE Herbals, Ajmal Group, Essential Oil Association of India (EOAI), ICEOFF, and Spices Board, SIDBI, etc. and several buyers of medicinal and aromatic plants attended the Kisan Mela. Different laboratories of CSIR such as NBRI, CDRI, IITR and IICT demonstrated their technologies relevant to rural areas. Beneficiaries of CSIR-CIMAP technologies and services together with other companies also exhibited their products by putting up stalls in the Kisan Mela and interacted with the Minister and other dignitaries present on the occasion.

About 4000 farmers and entrepreneurs from UP, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha and others states of the country participated in the Kisan Mela.

National Biotechnology Development Strategy 2015-2020

The National Biotechnology Development Strategy -2015-2020 was unveiled by the Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi today. The Strategy aims to establish India as a world-class bio-manufacturing hub. It intends to launch a major mission, backed with significant investments, for the creation of new biotech products, create a strong infrastructure for R&D and commercialization, and empower India’s human resources scientifically and technologically.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan releasing the National Biotechnology Development Strategy -2015-2020

 

 

Mission

• Provide impetus to utilising the knowledge and tools to the advantage of Humanity
• Launch a major well directed mission backed with significant investment for generation of new Biotech   Products
• Empower scientifically and technologically India’s incomparable Human Resource
• Create a strong Infrastructure for R&D and Commercialisation
• Establish India as a world class Bio-manufacturing Hub

Key Elements 

• Building a Skilled Workforce and Leadership
• Revitalizing the knowledge environment at par with the growing bio-economy
• Enhance Research opportunities in basic, disciplinary and inter-disciplinary sciences
• Encourage use-inspired discovery research
• Focus on biotechnology tools for inclusive development
• Nurturing innovation, translational capacity and entrepreneurship
• Ensuring a transparent, efficient and globally best Regulatory system and communication strategy
• Biotechnology cooperation- Fostering global and national alliances
• Strengthen Institutional Capacity with redesigned governance models
• Create a matrix of measurement of processes as well as outcome

Towards
 
• Making India ready to meet the challenge of achieving US$100bn by 2025
• Launching Four Major Missions – Healthcare, Food and Nutrition, Clean Energy and Education
• Creating a Technology Development and Translation network across the country with global partnership-5 new clusters, 40 Biotech incubators, 150 TTOs, 20 Bio-connect centres
• Strategic and focussed investment in building the Human Capital by creating a Life Sciences and Biotechnology Education Council

Source: Press Release, Press Information Bureau, India

Bioinformatics Centre Inaugurated at Tripura University

The Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurating the Bioinformatics Centre, at Tripura University, Agartala on September 21, 2015.

 

 

The Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan addressing at the inauguration on the Bioinformatics Centre, at Tripura University, Agartala on September 21, 2015.

Courtesy: Press Information Bureau, India

Web Enabled Project Management Information System for Department of Bio Technology Projects

Dhirendra Kumar

News Curator cum Moderator

Indian Botanists

 

The Union Minister for Science & Technology & Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched web enabled project management information system for the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) projects. While inaugurating the DBT Strategy Meet at the NCR Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad today, he also unveiled a mobile app for the purpose. The application will be available at http://dbtepromis.nic.in. 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan launching the “eProMIS”,  for the DBT projects

These applications will help registration of new investigators, online submission of proposals, Upload project related documents and even Online tracking of projects, reviewing the proposals and intimation of release of grants. 

Screen Shot of website

 This is expected to avoid delay in processing project proposals and access of information to the applicants on their proposals from anywhere. Delays could be avoided as there can be peer review of the projects online. 

Source: Press Release, Press Information Bureau, India

Bio Innovation Centre Inaugurated at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Tiruvananthapuram

Bio Innovation Centre of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Tiruvananthapuram was inaugurated today by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.

Inaugurating the first phase of the Bio Innovation Centre of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Tiruvananthapuram today, the Minister said, “I see ten years down the road a $ 100 billion industry which will be the powerhouse of not only India’s pharmaceutical sector, but will be on a global scale. At this rate of growth it looks likely to be bigger than the domestic pharmaceutical industry.”