Ladakh L-G, RK Mathur Visits CRIDA, CCMB Facilities in Hyderabad

Ladakh Lt Governor paid a visit to the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) here on Wednesday, urging scientists to aid in crop planning for the region.

According to an official release, Mathur asked CRIDA to guide the Ladakh region in organic farming, medicinal and aromatic plants, and high-value crops to increase agricultural income so that farming becomes more profitable than tourism.

According to the release, he inspected CRIDA-developed equipment and visited various laboratories housed in the institute, outfitted with cutting-edge research facilities. He also visited Hyderabad's CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) Research Center, Boduppal.

He interacted with the scientists, discussing various aromatic and medicinal plants grown in Ladakh and inquiring about aromatic and medicinal plant growth and extraction. Mathur emphasized the importance of mentoring and engaging aspiring entrepreneurs in this field. He went to the labs, experimental farm fields, herbal processing facilities, and a lemongrass essential oil distribution demonstration.

ICAR-CRIDA Director V K Singh highlighting the various initiatives taken by CRIDA under the Technology Demonstration Component of NICRA at Ladakh. Mathur inspected some of the institute's cutting-edge microscopy and genomics facilities while at CCMB.

LG Mathur also visited the Advanced Imaging, Cryo-EM, and Next Generation Sequencing facilities. Vinay Nandicoori, Director, CSIR-CCMB, and Karthikeyan Vasudevan, Chief Scientist, gave detailed presentations on the Centre's current and future projects. LG Mathur spoke about the potential of pashmina in Ladakh and the need for it to be certified as a Geographical Indication (GI).

A major topic of discussion was how Pashmina wool, derived from Changthangi goats in Ladakh, is frequently adulterated with other types of wool. "The CCMB is working to develop technologies to identify the animal origins of many types of wool sold in India," according to another press release.

"We are working on finding a reliable and affordable technique to differentiate between different types of wool," said CCMB Director Vinay K Nandicoori. The Lt Governor's assistance in locating appropriate and dependable sources of wool will be precious as testing standards for us."