Industrial Biotech Park in Jammu gets operational, aims to produce 25 startups per year

New Delhi: The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated an Industrial Biotech Park at Kathua, Jammu, on 28th May, 2022.

In his opening remarks, the Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his guidance and support in realizing the dream of biotech parks in J&K. He said that the biotech park in Kathua will be a stepping stone toward high-quality research in aromatic plants. With the potential to produce 25 startups per year, the biotech park would also boost startup business in the region. With Bamboo clusters and Agarbati making units to be set up soon, he hoped that Kathua would emerge as a country’s startup destination.

Dr Jitendra Singh stressed the idea of innovation as a way forward. He said that in this age of innovation, the ways and means of earning have changed drastically and we can achieve a lot provided we are innovative and hardworking.

The function was attended by LG, J&K UT, Manoj Sinha; Principal Scientific Advisor, Govt of India Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood; Secretary, DST-Govt of India, Dr. S.Chandershekhar; Secretary MoES, Govt of India, Dr. M. Ravichandran; Secretary DSIR & DG CSIR; Secretary DBT Dr. Rajesh Gokhale; Principal Secretary S&T , J&K UT Shri Alok Kumar; Director IIIM-Jammu Dr DS Reddy; OSD-Industrial Biotech Park-Kathua Dr Zabeer Ahmad.

Manoj Sinha hoped that the other biotech park whose construction is in progress at Handwara, Kashmir, also gets inaugurated soon. He lauded the role of Make in India initiative in creating new opportunities for youth.

Prof Ajay Kumar Sood congratulated DBT for its hard work in realizing this dream of biotech parks in the country. He said that the biotech park at Kathua will promote biodiversity research in the region and give an impetus to aromatic plant research.

The industrial biotech park Kathua is jointly funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology-Govt. of India, and Jammu & Kashmir Science, Technology & Innovation Council. The work began in Feb 2019 and it got completed in a record time of 3 years. This biotech park is among the 9 biotech parks established across the country.

The union territory of Jammu & Kashmir is uniquely positioned to harness the potential of biotechnology thanks to the conducive climate, geographic location and availability of unique crops and plants in the region. The Ghatti Biotech Park, Kathua, offers facilities like herbal extraction, fermentation, analytical lab., distillation, micro-propagation, plant tissue culture. It would also act as a platform for technology incubation, training & skill development.

The biotech park would not only act as an incubation hub of new ideas and startups but would also cater to the specific needs of agri-entrepreneurs, startups, progressive farmers, young entrepreneurs, scientists, scholars, and students not only from Jammu & Kashmir but also from nearby States of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. (India Science Wire)