CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu, launched the “One Week, One Lab” campaign with the inauguration of the Lavender Festival at Bhaderwah in the Jammu region by Hon’ble Minister of Science & Technology (I/C) and Vice President CSIR, Dr Jitendra Singh.
The Hon’ble Minister said that it is a moment of pride for all of us that Bhaderwah has emerged as the Lavender capital of India and Agri StartUp destination. The Minister further described Bhaderwah as the birthplace of India’s Purple Revolution and the destination of Agri-StartUps. He said, “Farmers had been engaged in traditional maize cultivation for decades, but some farmers thought of doing something different and turned to floriculture. Today, around two and a half thousand farmers are cultivating Lavender here. They have also been handheld through the Aroma Mission of the Central Government. This new cultivation has greatly increased the income of the farmers.”
The two day Lavender festival involved hundreds of farmers, agri-industrialists, entrepreneurs, etc. The farmer-industry meet, Agri-startup expo and cultural programme were the significant highlights of the festival.
Earlier, CSIR-IIIM organised a curtain raiser event for its “One Week, One Lab,” programme marked by the release of the brochure of the programme. Interacting with the media, Dr Zabeer Ahmed, Director, CSIR-IIIM, provided insights into the CSIR’s nationwide theme-based campaign. CSIR-IIIM celebrated the seven-day mega event from 4-10 June 2023, covering the diverse themes related to researchers, farmers, industrialists, and academicians.
On the second day, the Student-Scientist Connect programme under Jigyasa at its branch laboratory in Srinagar was organised. The event was inaugurated by Dr Geetha Vani Rayasam, Head CSIR-HRDG & Coordinator CSIR Jigyasa Programme. During the event, 130 students and accompanying faculties from different Schools of Srinagar and adjoining areas enthusiastically participated. Various activities were undertaken during the event including hackathon, science model competition, DIY activities, painting competition and visit to various science labs of the institute.
The third day marked the initiation of a one-day Symposium on Drug Discovery at CSIR-IIIM, Jammu. Dr Sunil Kumar Dubey, General Manager, Medical Research, R&D Healthcare Division Emami Ltd, Kolkata, was the Chief Guest in the inaugural session and delivered a plenary lecture on "Pharmacokinetic Pharmacodynamic Modelling and Simulation of Phytopharmaceuticals." Lauding the role of CSIR-IIIM in the drug development from natural resources, he emphasised that while developing phytopharmaceutical as a drug, we need to make actual costing involved and the availability of standardised raw material.
Earlier, introducing the Chief Guest to the audience, Dr Zabeer Ahmed in his welcome address, described Dr Dubey as an acclaimed scientist having more than 16 years experience in teaching, research and administration. The symposium was attended by more than 350 participants in hybrid mode. It aimed to foster collaboration, exchange ideas, and promote advancements in pharmaceutical research. There were three major technical sessions and an interactive poster session as a part of the day programme.
The fourth day of the campaign consisted of a skill development programme on high-end research. It was attended by about 200 participants drawn from various divisions of different institutions such as AIIMS Jammu, Central University of Jammu, IIT Jammu, University of Jammu, SKUAST Jammu, Cluster University of Jammu and various Government Degree Colleges of Jammu district.
Dr Zabeer Ahmed while interacting with the students said that the skill development session was aimed to enhance the skills of researchers and professionals in the field of advanced research, providing them with valuable insights and knowledge to advance their work. The participants were given hands-on training on the operation of sophisticated instruments like HPTLC, HPLC, GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS, and NMR.
On the fifth day, CSIR-IIIM organised two parallel programs i.e. "Young Researcher Meet (YRM)" event at its main campus in Jammu and the "Awareness Programme for Farmers" at its Chatha Experimental Farm, Jammu.
At the Chatha farm, more than 300 farmers from Rajouri, Jammu, Kathua, Samba, and Udhampur districts attended the awareness programme. During the programme, they were apprised of the cultivation, processing, value addition, product development, and marketing of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs). Farmers appreciated the efforts of IIIM and showed enthusiasm to associate with the programme. Chief Guest of the Programme, Dr Sushil Kumar Gupta, Registrar and Dean, College of Horticulture and Forestry, SKUAST, Jammu, urged participants to fully benefit from the programme and adopt cash crops like MAPs. Guest of Honour, KK Sharma, Director of Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare, Jammu, apprised about various welfare schemes of the department and appreciated the effort of CSIR-IIIM under the Aroma Mission.
Dr Zabeer Ahmed said that after the remarkable success of CSIR-Aroma Mission Phase-I and II, CSIR has launched Phase-III of this mission project which would focus on establishing clusters where end-to-end solutions would be provided to farmers.
At the Jammu campus, YRM witnessed the participation of over 100 aspiring researchers from various universities. A poster session followed by a brainstorming discussion on cutting-edge research was conducted. The scholars provided live demonstrations of research and analytical facilities, showcasing laboratory techniques unique to the institute. This was followed by an interactive session where participants engaged with the scientists from CSIR-IIIM.
CSIR-IIIM organised an Awareness Programme for farmers on “Cultivation, Processing and Marketing of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants” at Leh on the sixth day.
More than 100 farmers, entrepreneurs and students from different areas of the UT of Ladakh attended the programme where scientists of CSIR-IIIM presented the detailed introduction of selected medicinal and aromatic plants in UT of Ladakh.
Dr Zabeer Ahmed in his message stressed on sustainable development of the Ladakh region through precision agriculture and the development of region-specified protocols for the cultivation of aromatic and medicinal plants.
Chief Guest of the programme, Adv. Tashi Gylson, Hon’ble Chief Executive Councillor, acknowledged the role of CSIR-IIIM in establishing a new Experimental Farm in the region. Guests of Honour, Mr Gulam Mehdi, Executive Councillor, Minority/Forest and Mr Stanzin Chosphel, Executive Councillor, Agriculture Information, while speaking on the occasion complimented Director CSIR-IIIM for choosing Ladakh as one of the venues for “One Week, One Lab” celebrations.
The final event of the programme was a two-day Start-Up conclave, organised by the CSIR-IIIM at Udhampur. The conclave was inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister Dr Jitendra Singh who said that the Start-up movement promoted by PM Narendra Modi is now reaching every part of India, including the B-Towns and the 2-day “Young Start-up Conclave” at Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir offers an opportunity to explore new avenues for the industry as well as entrepreneurs in the region.
Dr Zabeer emphasised people of district Udhampur and other nearest districts must visit this ‘Start-up Conclave’ so that they will be informed and counselled about the benefits of startups which are the engines of economic growth.
The conclave experienced an overwhelming response of visitors, as more than 800 visitors visited the exhibition and witnessed the demonstration of innovation-driven ideas, some startups and the products and technologies developed by a few of them. In this Young Startup Conclave, 54 Startups participated from across the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
At the valedictory of Startup Conclave, Udhampur, Mr Ghan Shyam Singh, JKAS, Additional DDC, Udhampur, was the Chief Guest and Dr Zabeer Ahmed presided over the closing ceremony and felicitated the startups.
