Jammu, Feb 03: Minister of State, Dr Jitendra Singh chaired a first of its kind meeting focused on “Fostering Connect with Society for Startup Promotion in the Region”, held here today at CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu.
District Development Councils of Kathua and Udhampur, various social and farmer organizations along with Scientists and Technologists of CSIR-IIIM, participated in the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said that bridging a strong connect of science with society is an important step to leverage the benefits from the different schemes and initiatives promulgated by various scientific and technological organizations and departments in his ministries, that envisage to influence and impact the lives of the citizens and addressing to the needs of the common through science and technology-driven interventions which have been the hallmark of the current Government.
He commended the efforts made by CSIR in devising and implementing one after another flagship initiatives those have promisingly influenced the lives of thousands of farmer families besides empowering young researchers, unemployed technocrats, and women in different sectors. Recent, showcasing of the CSIR technologies at Republic Day parade exemplifies the significant work that has been done by different Institutes for inclusive growth, development and prosperity which embarks upon making India Viksit and Self Reliant.
DDC members during the open house interaction expressed their gratitude to CSIR-IIIM Jammu for initiating such kind of connect programme which has not only helped them to understand what kind of scientific activities are being undertaken in this institute but they also came to know about the various flagship programmes like CSIR Aroma Mission, Floriculture Mission, Startup incubators, IIIM Jammu is running which would surely have long term impact on the farmers income and generation of lucrative livelihood.
Col. Mahan Singh, Chairman, DDC Kathua Lal Chand Chairman, DDC Udhampur and Raghunandhan Singh, Vice Chairman, DDC Kathua also spoke on the occasion who appreciated the efforts of CSIR-IIIM under Union Ministry of Science & Technology for conducting such kind of unique programme.
DDC members Kathua and Udhampur attended the meeting and took active part in the deliberation of the same by highlighting the specific requirement of aroma and floriculture crops in their respective areas. 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.
The Institute is also actively involved in the research and development programmes including CSIR Phytopharmaceutical Mission, CSIR Mission on Sickle Cell Anemia that aspire to the discovery of various novel drug molecules for further drug development and will help a long way in ensuring our good health and wellbeing.
The Technology Business Incubator and Atal Innovation Centre of the Institute are pivoting the enterprising and innovative youth of the region to self-empowerment through their integration with the multitude of entrepreneurial initiatives and programmes being launched by the CSIR and other S&T organizations, he added. He exhorted that for effective implementation and translation of the benefits under each programme of the Institute, greater involvement of the public representatives at divisional and district level is critical and the need of the hour is to strengthen the integration of the institutional outreach with functionaries at the grassroots level.
Dr. Suphla Gupta, Nodal Scientist CSIR Aroma Mission, informed the gathering about various programs being conducted under the Aroma Mission. Dr. Saurabh Saran, Principal Investigator of the Technology Business Incubator at CSIR-IIIM, informed the gathering about the entrepreneurial and technological support to the Start-Ups by the BioNEST incubator and Nidhi TBI at CSIR-IIIM, Jammu and Atal Incubator at the CSIR-IIIM Branch Lab, Srinagar.
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.
