National Innovation & Startup Policy (NISP), JU Organizes Online Interaction on Botanic Garden & Bio-prospection of Medicinal Plants under Innovation Startup Series

National Innovation and Startup Policy (NISP), University of Jammu organized an online interaction on Botanic Garden and Bio-prospection of Medicinal Plants under Innovation Startup Series. The interaction was organized under the patronage of Prof. Manoj Kumar Dhar, Vice-Chancellor University of Jammu and was attended by more than 100 participants from all over the country. Prof. Dhar in his inaugural address explained the importance of the NISP for the students and the faculty of different institutes and said that the policy is a step towards the AtamNirbhar Bharat wherein University of Jammu is participating with its full strength among other Higher Education Institutes of the country. India aspires to become a 5 trillion-dollar economy by 2024. To reach the mark, it needs to evolve systems and mechanisms to convert the present demographic dividend into high-quality technical human resource capable of doing cutting-edge research and innovation and deep-tech entrepreneurship.

At the onset Prof. Parikshat Singh Manhas, Coordinator, NISP, and President, IIC, Director& CEO UOJSPVF and UBIICUniversity of Jammu, Jammu introduced the concept of Start-Up series and also welcomed all the guests. Prof. Parikshat while introducing the NISP, University of Jammu said that NISP for students and faculty of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will enable the institutes to actively engage students, faculties, and staff in innovation and entrepreneurship-related activities. He added that this framework will also facilitate the Ministry of Education, Government of India in bringing uniformity across HEIs in terms of Intellectual Property ownership management, technology licensing and institutional Startup policy, thus enabling the creation of a robust innovation and Startup ecosystem across all HEIs.He shared the strategies being adopted by the University of Jammu to build an Innovation Ecosystem in the region.

Expert speaker of the event Dr. Bikarma Singh, Senior Scientist, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow elaborated on the bioprospection of medicinal and aromatic plants and stressed upon starting of entrepreneurial ventures amongst the stakeholders in this field. While explaining technical how know about the cultivation and maintenance of medicinal and aromatic plants in gardens and agricultural field, proper identification of authentication of planting material, extraction of essential oils in the laboratory and industrial conditions and marketing of products he revealed new entrepreneurship opportunities in different sectors.  The stakeholders who attended the interaction were from different parts of the country including Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Utter Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu. The proceedings of the interaction were coordinated by Dr. Harish ChanderDutt, a member of NISP, University of Jammu. He also presented the vote of thanks.