Itanagar: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh on Tuesday inaugurated a new Biotechnology Centre for Northeast tribals
in a remote area of Arunachal Pradesh at Kimin, in presence of Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Arunachal East Lok Sabha MP Tapir Gao and other dignitaries, official sources said.
The Minister said, the ‘Centre for Bio-resources and Sustainable Development’, ably supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, is going to be a “game-changer”
as an avenue of livelihood for youth, particularly the tribal population of the region.
It aims at conservation and sustainable utilization of the local bio-resources using biotechnological tools, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, ever since Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister, he has accorded a special priority to the development of the North-Eastern region of India and also to the upliftment of tribals. He said, in the last seven years, significant steps have been taken in areas like agriculture, hydel-power, infrastructure, information and communication technology, tourism as well as in creating new avenues of growth through the development of vertically integrated food processing chains, marketing the skill development and cross-border trade.
The Minister also underlined that the Department of Biotechnology has played a pivotal role to build capacity in the region for carrying out biotechnology research to address issues specific to the region and implement programmes for the social upliftment of the local communities.
Dr Singh said that the Centre for Bioresources and Sustainable Development has also established academic linkages with several ICAR, CSIR Institutions for efficient implementation of these programmes as they will create employment opportunities for the prospective young entrepreneurs of the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The facilities for the implementation of these programmes will be established in four districts of Arunachal covering over 50 villages which will benefit over 10,000 farmers in the next two years.
The Minister said, the Centre is focusing on implementation of three major programs for benefit of the region – (i) state-of-the-art Orchidarium in the main Centre at Kimin for conservation and multiplication of priority orchid species along with establishing satellite units in selected districts of Arunachal, (ii) establishment of banana fibre extraction and processing units in selected districts of Arunachal, and (iii) establishment of Aroma Unit for promotion of cultivation of aromatic crops and entrepreneurship development.
Dr Singh informed that for the scientific upliftment of the region, “The Centre for Bioresources and Sustainable Development” has been established at Kimin in Arunachal Pradesh’s Papum Pare district by the State Council for Science and Technology, Department of Science & Technology, Govt of Arunachal Pradesh with the support of Department of Biotechnology, GoI. The Centre was sanctioned on 27th March 2018 at a total sanction of Rs 54.23 crore initially for a period of three years. The tenure of the project has now been extended till 26th September 2023.
The Union Minister also dedicated DBT-funded Skill Vigyan Program in Biotechnology to the state of Arunachal Pradesh during the event. He said the program is under the purview of Skill India Mission through which the DBT makes alignment with Skill Development Councils of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and various Partnering Institutions towards handholding of this program.
Dr Singh informed that the program is the focused endeavour towards building synergies with Skill Vigyan and Accelerate Vigyan initiatives of Govt of India as it aims at facilitating the development of career paths for young graduates in Life Sciences/Biotechnology by skilling them through hands-on practices for creating quality job opportunities as well as Entrepreneurship Developments including capacity building of young faculty members in the key STI domains, the sources said.
