Dr Jitendera inaugurates CSIR HealthCare Theme Conclave

Srinagar, Nov 16 Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology; MoS PMO, inaugurated the CSIR HealthCare Theme Conclave at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), Srinagar, today. The conclave is being organized under the One Week One Theme (OWOT) Campaign of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with the prime focus on fostering innovation and startup ecosystem in the HealthCare Sector. During his inaugural address, Dr. Jitendra mentioned how the country has come a long way from only a few hundred startups in 2014 to several thousand now, with many success stories. He said that some of these companies with humble beginnings now provide employment to hundreds of people and sell their products and services not only in India but abroad as well.
Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized the rapid growth of the startup ecosystem in Jammu & Kashmir, which has expanded from 30 to over 350 startups in the past five years. He mentioned India’s rise in the Global Innovation/ Index from 81 to 40, recognizing the youth’s potential, unlocked through policies introduced under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership since 2014.
He said that there is a greater need for supporting deep-tech startups in the HealthCare sector to become Atma Nirbhar and achieve the target of Viksit Bharat 2047. Towards this end the Modi Government 3.0 has brought the BioE3 policy and allocated Rs. 1,000 crores for startups and Rs. 2,600 cr for industrial hubs.
Satish Sharma, Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, said that his government of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir is committed to provide all the support to youth who wish to setup their own companies, as this will also provide much needed employment opportunities in the UT.
Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General, CSIR & secretary DSIR conveyed in her message that the One Week One Theme (OWOT) Campaign was aimed at creating awareness about the scientific and technological progress made by CSIR Labs.
G.N. Singh, Advisor to Chief Minister, UP & Ex Drug Controller General, during his address mentioned about his long association with CSIR-IIIM, Jammu. Dr Vinay K. Nandicoori, Director, CSIR-CCMB talked about various contributions that different CSIR laboratories are making in the HealthCare sector including new drugs, diagnostics, surveillance for antibiotic resistance. He also talked about CSIR’s contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first day of the conclave saw significant participation from academicians, scientists, technocrats, startups, industrialists, research scholars, members of the civil society and students.