Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today unveiled the new variety "Lotus" flower developed by Lucknow Institute CSIR-NBRI (National Botanical Research Institute) that has 108 petals. The lotus named ‘NBRI Namoh 108’ is developed by the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), a premier plant-based, multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art National R&D center based in Lucknow.

Dedicating to the nation the Namoh108 lotus variety and its products at NBRI, Lucknow, Dr Jitendra Singh said, “Considering the religious importance of the 'lotus flower' and 'the digit 108', this combination gives an important identity to this variety.”

The Namoh 108 lotus variety flowers from March to December and is rich in nutrients. This is the first lotus variety whose genome is completely sequenced for its characteristics.

Dr Jitendra Singh also released apparel made from lotus fibre and perfume ‘Frotus’, extracted from lotus flowers and developed by the NBRI under the Lotus Research Programme in collaboration with FFDC, Kannauj.

Lauding the NBRI for naming the unique lotus variety as Namoh 108, Dr Jitendra Singh said it is a grand gift to the relentless zeal and innate beauty of Shri Narendra Modi, coming as it does in the tenth year of his tenure as the Prime Minister.

Also launching the Lotus Mission on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said this project is being undertaken in Mission mode like the other priority schemes, - the National Honey and Bee Mission (NHBM), National Bamboo Mission (NBM), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Gokul Mission, Blue Revolution, Mission Shakti - an integrated women empowerment programme and the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) etc.

“Under the guidance of PM Modi, the Government has now initiated the Lotus Mission after the stupendous success of Aroma Mission. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has reiterated that this Government not only starts a scheme or project, but also ensures that it is capped,” he said.

In another novel initiative at recycling, Dr Jitendra Singh also released herbal colours for various applications, extracted by NBRI from flower offerings made at temples. These herbal colours can also be used for dying silk and cotton cloths. 

The Minister also released the new variety of Aloe vera named ‘NBRI-Nihar’, a clonal selection having approximately 2.5 times high gel yield in comparison to Aloe vera. As per the field observations, 'NBRI-Nihar' is found least affected against bacterial and fungal diseases. Two herbal products namely ‘Herbal Cold Drops’ for curing common cough and cold & Herbal Anti Dandruff Hair Oil, made by Marc Laboratories, were also launched by the Minister. 

Dr Jitendra Singh also launched a Database of 500 Raw Drug Repositories of the Institute developed as per Indian Pharmacopoeia Standards and released a book on roses in CSIR-NBRI Garden, comprising the details of elite varieties conserved at the Botanic Garden. On the occasion, an MoU was signed between CSIR-NBRI & M/s Nucleome Informatics, Hyderabad for collaborative research on Cotton. The CSIR-NBRI digital Herbarium, a National Repository of flora specimens of India, was also launched to easily disseminate information among the public and a book on ‘Plant Resources of Uttar Pradesh and a Check List’ and ‘e-flora of Uttar Pradesh’ were also released. The e-flora and book provide a list and information of more than 5,000 plants of Uttar Pradesh.

The S&T Minister also released the NBRI-Goutout, a supplement for gout/gouty arthritis, and a nutri-bar for army personnel deployed in high-altitudes.

Dr Jitendra Singh also visited the six-days theme-based event organised by NBRI from 14 to 19 August 2023, showcasing the laboratory's cutting-edge research, products and technologies, expertise and facilities to various stakeholders. 

Earlier the Director of NBRI, Dr Ajit Kumar Shasany welcomed Dr. Jitendra Singh and lauded him for giving the consent of ‘One Week One Lab’, which has created a revolutionary transformation in showcasing the CSIR achievements.

Dr Jitendra Singh also inaugurated an exhibition dedicated to nutra-central original byproducts and went around all across each stall discussing the various aspects of it.  

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