Imphal: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu Tuesday inaugurated the Phytopharmaceutical Laboratory at the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), Imphal.
Addressing the gathering, Vice President lauded IBSD for promoting the Phytopharmaceutical Mission of the northeastern region. The mission will aid in the development of alternative herbal medicines to combat diseases like COVID-19. He praised the contribution of the Indian scientific community in nation-building and said that the future progress of our country rests in the hands of our able scientists.
The Vice President opined that rational thinking and scientific temper are the cornerstones of a progressive nation. Stating that the northeastern region is a biodiversity hotspot with its rich variety of ecosystems, he praised IBSD for managing the bioresources of the region for sustainable development using modern biotechnological tools.
Expressing happiness that IBSD, an institution under the Department of Biotechnology is promoting the Phyto-pharmaceutical Mission of North Eastern Region, he said that the mission is aimed to promote the documentation, scientific validation and evaluation of traditional healthcare practices which is an important step and assumes special significance in the context of the vast plant resources and diverse traditional healthcare practices of the North East.
The Vice President also stated that it is praiseworthy to know that IBSD is also focusing on the promotion of start-ups based on the development of herbal medicinal products such as AYUSH drugs, Phytopharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, among others.
Naidu exuded confidence that transformational approaches in developing products, processes and technologies with local bioresources will help in development of traditional knowledge-based therapeutic agents leading to the socio-economic development of the region as well as benefits to traditional health care practitioners. He also appreciated IBSD’s initiatives in ensuring quality standards of food and water in the region and numerous outreach programmes to ensure that the fruits of its research reach the common people of this region.
The Vice President stressed the importance of better and road connectivity to the overall development of the region. He called for development activities in the northeastern states by utilizing the funds provided by the Centre for various projects with transparency and accountability. The development of the country is incomplete without the development of the northeast. Communication should be strengthened, he added.
Governor La. Ganesan in his speech made a special request to the IBSD authorities to reach out to far-flung rural areas where medical facilities are almost nil or minimum and to those people residing who are economically backward.
The basic objective of this Phytopharmaceutical Lab is to provide quality medical facilities. The medical facilities in the northeastern region including Manipur are insufficient compared to other metropolitan cities. The region is directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and it is our belief that we are going to overcome the challenge but it will take some time, he added.
In his presidential address, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh stressed that the northeast region is blessed with rich biodiversity and said that his government is committed to protecting the environment and ecology and have been making various efforts for protecting forests thereby increasing the Protected Area Networks.
State Botanical Garden and Biodiversity Parks have been established for protecting and conserving the local species. State Biodiversity Board and Manipur State Wetlands Authority are also functioning.
He also stated that he was delighted to learn that IBSD has taken up several researches on bioresources available in the region. The newly develop laboratory of Phytopharmaceutical research will help in documenting a large number of medicinal plants of the North East region. Scientific validations and characterization of bioactive compounds have tremendous significance for nutraceuticals and drug development.
He expressed happiness that IBSD has also made significant contributions to the people in the region during the pandemic by providing manpower and RT-PCR to strengthen testing capacity. It is commendable that IBSD initiated the Genome sequencing facility for Coronavirus for the first time in NE India. The State Government looks forward to its continued collaboration with the Institute in the State.
Later, the Vice President visited the INSACOG facility of the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development.
As part of the programme, a “National seminar on Bioeconomy from Bioresources of North Eastern Region of India” was also held at IBSD campus, Takyelpat, Imphal.
Tuesday’s program was organized by the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (ISBD), Imphal (an institute under the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India) in commemoration of 75 years of Independence (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav).
The function was attended by La. Ganesan, Governor of Manipur as Guest of honour while N. Biren Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur was the President of the function. Council of Minister’s, MLAs, Prof. Pulok Kumar Mukherjee, Director, Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development, Dr. Nanaocha Sharma, Scientist, Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
