J&K born ‘Aroma Mission’ among torchbearers of ‘Viksit Bharat’: Dr Jitendra

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: “Jammu and Kashmir born “Aroma Mission” will be among the torchbearers of “Viksit Bharat”, said Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh here on Saturday.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, J&K has also become a role model for the rest of India, which was exemplified by the depiction of lavender farms of Bhaderwah town of district Doda, through a tableau on Kartavya Path in the national capital on the occasion of the Republic Day.
He said the youth of J&K associated with the Aroma StartUp ecosystem have emerged as brand ambassadors of Purple Revolution across the country.
The Union Minister was speaking after chairing the first-of-its-kind meeting with PRIs, including members from DDCs. The meeting, aimed at fostering connect with the society for StartUp promotion in the region, was held at CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu today.
Describing J&K’s Aroma Mission as a success story, Dr Singh called for investing time and efforts to harness the hitherto unexplored or under-explored areas, contending that these areas hold the key to propelling India’s economy.
Dr Jitendra said, agri startups are fast becoming avenues of self-employment for youth of the Union Territory.
Pitching for more public-private partnership in agri startups, Dr Singh said, the era of silos is over, hence collaboration should be fostered among the two sectors. Underlining the importance of generating awareness about cultivation of Himalayan resources like lavender, he called upon the DDC members to play their part in this endeavour so that a large number of youth in their areas can join agri start-ups and earn their livelihoods in a sustainable manner and contribute to India’s GDP.
The Minister also called upon CSIR-IIIM to conduct research and find out which new crops are feasible for cultivation based on the topography of different regions of J&K.
Dr Singh stressed that more and more people need to be engaged in the agri-startup ecosystem. He further informed that India’s bio-economy is currently valued at over 140 billion from 10 billion a decade ago. The Minister expressed happiness at India being known as a leader in preventive healthcare in the world, thanks to its much recognised vaccine programme which helped save lakhs of lives across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the Space sector, Dr Jitendra informed that investment worth more than one thousand crore rupees has come in the area in just eight months last year. He said the government has set a target of attracting more than 40 billion Dollar investment by 2040 in space. But, India is expected to exceed the target according to the recent ADL (Arthur D Little) Report which said the country is projected to reach 100 Billion Dollar by 2040.
From district Kathua, Reeta Devi (DDC Bani), Sushma Devi (DDC Baronti), Bikram Singh (DDC Billawar), Rimmy Charak Dinga (DDC Amb), Abhinandan Sharma (DDC Hiranagar), Tajinder Singh (DDC Mahanpur), Neeru Bala (DDC Mandli), Karan Kumar (DDC Marheen), Narain Dutt (DDC Nagrota Gujroo) and from Udhampur district, Puran Chand (DDC Udhampur I), Pinky Devi (DDC Latti Marothi), Amit Sharma (DDC Majalta), Subash Chander (DDC Narsoo), Rakesh Chander (DDC Ghordi) participated in the deliberations.
Earlier in his welcome address, Dr Zabeer Ahmed, Director CSIR IIIM informed that CSIR IIIM Jammu is earnestly striving to contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic status of the poor marginal farmers of the region and enhancing the ecosystem for agritech startup through the extension of the activities and benefits under various farmer oriented mission programmes that include CSIR Aroma Mission, CSIR Floriculture Mission, CSIR Mission on Region Specific Smart Agriculture.
Dr. Suphla Gupta, Nodal Scientist CSIR Aroma Mission, Dr. Saurabh Saran, Principal Investigator of the Technology Business Incubator at CSIR-IIIM, Er. Abdul Rahim, Dr. Sumit Gandhi, Dr. Deepika Singh (HoDs), Vikram Singh, Sr. COA, Ajay Kumar CoFA, Dilip Gehlot SPO, Rajinder Kumar, Principal Technical Officer, Dr. Raj Kishore Rai and Dr. Rajinder Bhanweria (Sr. Scientists) were present along with other S&T staff of CSIR-IIIM.