Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh today inaugurated various facilities worth Rs 120 Crore at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute ( THSTI), Faridabad, Haryana.

Delivering the Presidential address after the inauguration of facilities including a Medical Research Centre which will be a 50 bedded hospital and will have facilities for conducting clinical research such as observational cohort studies and phase 1 & phase 2 clinical trials, Dr Jitendra Singh said, kind of research happening here has drawn international acclaim.

Dr Jitendra Singh was happy to note that COVID vaccine trials happened in the THTSI labs under partnership with WHO and pointed that it was the 1^st Lab in India to culture Omicron virus.

Dr Jitendra Singh added that India did extremely well during the covid-19 pandemic as it developed own vaccines and provided over 2 billion doses to our people. He said, India also provided excellent medical care and the mortality in India due to covid-19 was among the lowest in the world and for this congratulated THSTI scientists for their excellent science and support for vaccine research and development both to academia and industry.

Dr Jitendra Singh informed that THSTI is one of the top institutes under DBT and this institute has done extremely well in many areas of research such as mother and child health, vaccine development, therapeutic molecules against tuberculosis and dengue and newer diagnostic tools. It has world class facilities such as BSL-3 lab, experimental animal facility, a large biorepository and state of the art modern equipment for molecular research, the Minister added.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, Biotechnology is at the core of vaccine, diagnostics and therapeutic development in a cost-effective manner. He also pointed out that the Biotech Industry has grown from 6 billion dollars to 80 billion dollars currently through the efforts of our research institutions, entrepreneurs and start-ups.

Secretary, DBT, Dr Rajesh Gokhale in his address said that THSTI is a young institute but it has done major contribution in the area of health care in India and particularly during the pandemic. He said that Resources, People and Ethos, what make an Institute a Distinct One and the THSTI has all the elements in it. Calling for making Research a Passion, Dr Gokhale said, in the last decade the Institute has made an international mark.

Dr Pramod Kumar Garg, Executive Director of THSTI said in his address that the scientists are committed to develop world class vaccines and prodiucts and in future if there will be a need Human Challenge Model will be adopted. He urged the Union Minister to look into the issue of filling fore vacancies as there is shortage of faculty.

The department of Biotechnology has 14 autonomous institutions across the country which are engaged in various aspects of human health research and agriculture.

The research done at THSTI with regard to durability of immunity to vaccination and natural infection informed national policy.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is committed to further enhance our research prowess and place India among the top Science and Technology countries in the world. The collective effort and brilliance of our scientists will definitely contribute significantly towards our honorable Prime Minister's vision of make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

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