Hon’ble S&T Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Vice President of CSIR and Chief Guest of the function, inaugurated the CSIR HealthCare Theme Conclave at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), Srinagar, on 16 November 2024.

The conclave was organised under the One Week One Theme (OWOT) campaign of CSIR, with the prime focus on fostering innovation and a startup ecosystem in the Healthcare Sector. During his inaugural address, Dr Jitendra Singh 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 emphasised 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, recognising 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 to support 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 ? 1,000 crores for startups and ? 2,600 cr for industrial hubs.

Mr Satish Sharma, Cabinet Minister, J&K Govt Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Transport, Science & Technology, Information Technology, Youth Services & Sports and ARI & Trainings Departments, the Guest of Honour at the Inaugural function, said that his government of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir is committed to providing all the support to youth who wish to set up 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 the brainchild of Dr Jitendra Singh, aimed at creating awareness about the scientific and technological progress made by CSIR Labs, for improving engagement among stakeholders such as MSMEs, startups, scientists and researchers to foster collaboration and provide new avenues employment. 

Mr GN Singh, Advisor to Chief Minister, UP, & Ex Drug Controller General, during his address, mentioned his long association with CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, and how he has seen various facets of drug discovery research progressing at the institute. He appreciated the efforts of the Government, through its various agencies, including CSIR, in supporting the startup ecosystem in the country and generating employment opportunities.

Dr Vinay K Nandicoori, Director, CSIR-CCMB, talked about various contributions that different CSIR laboratories are making in the healthcare sector, which include new drugs, diagnostics, and surveillance for antibiotic resistance. He also talked about CSIR’s contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Zabeer Ahmed, Director CSIR-IIIM, earlier in his welcome address, informed the audience about various sessions in the conclave, including the exhibition of technological innovations and products by 36 startups and eight CSIR labs, in the HealthCare sector, which include new drugs under development for cancer and infectious diseases, products targeted at women health, natural cosmetics, as well as functional foods, biofertilisers and biopesticides. He also mentioned the research contributions of CSIR-IIIM in discovering drugs for cancer, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, and liver diseases, among others. He also highlighted a societal initiative — the “CSIR Aroma Mission” which is prospering under the mentorship of Dr Jitendra Singh.

Earlier, in special lectures, Dr D Srinivasa Reddy, Director, CSIR-IICT, talked about CSIR’s work on discovering new drugs from natural products as well as developing new and simpler chemical synthesis routes and their out licencing to companies for the production of generics and self-reliance in this area. 

Dr Vibha Tandon, Director of CSIR-IICB, talked about various challenges associated with antibiotic resistance, including its global burden and the molecules currently in the clinical pipeline, including those that are under development at various CSIR institutes.

Many startups participated in the event. The first day of the conclave saw significant participation from academicians, scientists, technocrats, startups, industrialists, research scholars, members of civil society and more than 300 students from various universities, colleges, and schools.