“Jammu and Kashmir has an opportunity to be the torchbearer of Viksit Bharat”, said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today.

The Minister was delivering the inaugural address at the first-ever 3-day International Conference on Traditional Medicine and Phytopharmaceuticals, and the 11^th International Congress of the Society for Ethnopharmacology at CSIR-IIIM in Jammu.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is for the first time since Independence that J&K’s unexplored resources like Aroma and Lithium are being tapped to boost India’s economy. It is evidenced in the Aroma Mission and Purple Revolution which were born in J&K, with the cultivation of lavender in the townships of Bhaderwah in Doda and Gulmarg in the Kashmir Valley. He said bio-Himalayan resources like these will add hugely to the country’s economy in the next two decades.

Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had spoken extensively on the significance of lavender farming in Bhaderwah in his Mann Ki Baat programme to encourage its cultivation.

The Union Minister said, following the Prime Minister’s call, states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Nagaland have also adopted the model of lavender cultivation, which shows that J&K is proving to be an example whose innovations and best practices are being emulated by other States of the country.

In the same way, India has made a name for itself the world over, with its success stories in the form of the indigenously developed COVID vaccine and much-talked about Chandrayaan Mission, Dr Singh stated. When the whole world was calamity-hit by the pandemic, Dr Jitendra Singh explained that it provided India an opportunity to emerge as a messiah for the global community as India-made vaccines saved lakhs of lives across the world. He said India is no more a country to be led by others, rather, it is a nation which has taken the mantle to lead the world.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, India has earned recognition as a propagator and a brand ambassador, with its traditional medicines and practices like Yoga becoming a panacea, adding that occidental methods of disease management and prevention are no more the only way for cure.

The Union Minister said, at the recent G20 Summit held in India, Prime Minister Modi proposed establishing a Global Biofuels Alliance to promote collaboration and sharing of best practices among the nations.

PM Modi is India's brand ambassador who has popularised Yoga, Millets and traditional Indian remedies across the world, he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh underlined that it was the initiative of the Prime Minister to have the UN declare the International Day of Yoga and the International Year of Millets. He said India has shed the tag of a fragile economy, and has now emerged as a fertile economy, adding that it is on its course to become a third largest economy in the world. 

Calling for collaboration among the emerging agri-start-ups and the industry, Dr Jitendra Singh said now is the time for greater integration, adding that the era of silos is over. He reasoned that India’s success stories, including Covid vaccine, Chandrayaan Mission and Aroma Mission, are the by-products of collaborative efforts between the StartUps and the industry, producers and the market. The Union Minister said the government has created an enabling ecosystem which must be optimised, he suggested.

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SNC/PK/PM