Guwahati, Oct 27: “Plant scientists must evolve as a bioresource-based economy is growing in this country. Time has come to convert the biodiversity-rich Northeast region of the country into a bio economy. The future is with the plant scientists now.”
This was stated by S.K Barik, director CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, while addressing the inaugural session of an international seminar at the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) on Thursday.
The seminar on the theme, “Advances in Entrepreneurial Botany: Entrepreneurship Opportunities from Plant Resources for Sustainable Development,” was organised by the department of botany at USTM, in collaboration with CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow.
Addressing the inaugural session, Barik congratulated USTM for taking botany to the entrepreneurship world.
“India has now opened up in this area. The country’s biotech regulator, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), has approved genetically modified (GM) mustard for commercial cultivation, paving the way for the country’s first transgenic food crop,” he said.
“Indian scientists are now looking forward to contributing towards a bio economy where several opportunities exist,” he added.
The inaugural session was also addressed by P.S Shukla, vice-chancellor of NEHU, Shillong and G.D Sharma, vice-chancellor, USTM among others.
Addressing the participants, Shukla said biodiversity was critical for human existence. “But it is under huge threat globally. If we destroy our biodiversity, we not only lose various species but also the foundation of our existence,” he said.
The seminar was supported by government agencies and organisations such as DST, INSA, CSIR-NBRI.
More than 200 participants, comprising research scholars, students, entrepreneurs and academicians across the globe, participated in the seminar.
Several foreign delegates and experts took part in the seminar, including Majid Sharifi-Rad from the University of Zabol, Iran; Emma Camilleri from the University of Malta; Renald Blundell from the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking, University of Malta; Hamed Barabadi, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran and Awdhesh Kumar Mishra, department of biotechnology, Yeungnam University, South Korea.
