Kathua Biotech Park to drive innovation, jobs across J&K, north India: Jitendra Singh
Kathua Biotech Park to drive innovation, jobs across J&K, north India: Jitendra Singh
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said the Industrial Biotech Park (IBP) at Ghatti in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua would emerge as a major hub for biotechnology-driven innovation, startup incubation, research, entrepreneurship and industrial development, creating new opportunities for youth, scientists, farmers and industry in the Union Territory and across north India.
He was addressing a gathering during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu and the Jammu and Kashmir Science, Technology and Innovation Council for the operationalisation and management of the Industrial Biotech Park.
Describing the project as another milestone in Kathua’s development journey and a transformative initiative, the minister said J&K possesses immense strengths in biodiversity, medicinal and aromatic plants, agriculture, horticulture, floriculture and other bio-resources, which can be transformed into high-value products through scientific research, biotechnology and innovation.
He said the IBP would provide a common platform where scientists, researchers, startups, entrepreneurs, industries and farmers can collaborate under one roof.
Highlighting the transformation of India’s innovation ecosystem under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh said the vision of the Government is to create job creators rather than job seekers.
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He referred to flagship initiatives such as Startup India and said India has witnessed an unprecedented startup revolution since 2014, with the number of recognised startups growing from only a few hundred to more than two lakh, reflecting a fundamental shift in the aspirations and entrepreneurial mindset of India’s youth.
Recalling the success of the CSIR Aroma Mission and the Purple Revolution, he said lavender cultivation has transformed the lives of farmers in J&K by converting traditional agriculture into profitable entrepreneurship.
He noted that the success of lavender has demonstrated how scientific interventions, value addition and market linkages can generate employment, enhance farmers’ incomes and establish sustainable bio-based enterprises.
He said similar opportunities exist in medicinal plants, aromatic crops, floriculture and other biotechnology-based sectors.
The Minister said the IBP should become a centre where innovative ideas are converted into successful enterprises. “It will promote biotechnology startups, agri-entrepreneurship, technology incubation and commercialization while encouraging young innovators and researchers to develop solutions that directly address societal needs.”
Explaining the key ingredients of a successful innovation ecosystem, Singh said sustainable innovation rests on four essential pillars—ideas from the young, experience from the elders, support from the Government and investment from industry.
He said meaningful innovation can flourish only when these four components work together in harmony.
“Government will continue to provide enabling policies, infrastructure and institutional support, while scientific institutions will generate knowledge and technology, industry will commercialise innovations and young entrepreneurs will convert ideas into successful enterprises,” he said.
Describing the MoU as much more than a formal agreement, Singh said it represents the Government’s commitment to an integrated and collaborative approach where scientific institutions, academia, industry and government departments work together rather than in isolation.
The collaboration, he said, will strengthen research, accelerate technology transfer, promote entrepreneurship and create a vibrant biotechnology ecosystem in the region.
Expressing confidence in the future of the project, Singh said the IBP will emerge as one of North India’s leading centres for biotechnology innovation. “It will strengthen research, promote commercialisation of indigenous technologies, encourage startup culture, create employment opportunities and contribute significantly to the knowledge-based economy of J&K,” he said.
Referring to Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, Singh said J&K has the potential to become a major contributor to India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation.
He said the Union Territory’s rich biodiversity, scientific institutions, skilled youth, medicinal and aromatic plant resources, and growing innovation ecosystem place it in a unique position to drive biotechnology-led growth and contribute significantly to the country’s economic transformation.
Earlier in his welcome address, Director, CSIR-IIIM Jammu, Dr Zabeer Ahmed, he apprised the Union Minister about the various milestones in the setting up of the Industrial Biotech Park and the future plan to meet the objectives of this high-end facility.
He said the Park, established by CSIR-IIIM with support from the J&K Science & Technology Department and the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, is the first Industrial Biotech Park in North India.