Jammu, June 08: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday said the ‘Cannabis Research Project’ of CSIR-IIIM Jammu with Canadian collaboration is the first-of-its-kind in India which has a great potential to produce export quality medicine for diabetic neuropathy, neurologies, cancer and epilepsy. He said this while chairing a review meeting with the top officials of CSIR-IIIM and J&K UT Science and Technology Department.
During the meeting, Dr Singh said the signing of the scientific agreement between CSIR-IIIM and IndusScan was “historic” not only for J&K but for the whole of India as it has the potential to produce those kinds of medicines which have to be exported from foreign countries. This kind of project will give an impetus for huge investment in Jammu and Kashmir, he added.
While appreciating CSIR-IIIM for this project, the union minister said CSIR-IIIM is the oldest scientific research institute in India with a history of discovering the mint way back in the 1960s, the centre of the purple revolution and now the Cannabis Research Project of CSIR-IIIM is going to make it more prestigious in terms of scientific research in India.
“For such a kind of important project, the synergy between institutions like CSIR-IIIM, IIM, IIT, AIIMS, etc. is imperative to look for various technicalities involved in it like the marketing strategies that can be done through IIM, clinical trials through AIIMS, technical support through IIT, etc as all these institutions are only situated in a radius of few kilometres in Jammu which is now the hub of education in India,” he said.
During the meeting, Dr Jitendra Singh directed CSIR-IIIM, J&K DST and other stakeholders in this project to hold a workshop so that the challenges and issues involved in it can be redressed on the spot and the work on the project is not stalled but increased.