Dr Jitendra Singh Inaugurates International Biotech Conclave in Northeast

Dr. Jitendra Singh, 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, announced on February 25 that the North East Region is hosting an International Conference on Biotechnology for the first time since independence, with over 700 international and national delegates representing over 35 countries.

The Minister informed that "International Bio-resource Conclave" along with the 22nd Congress of the International Society for Ethno-pharmacology and the 10th Congress of Society for Ethno-pharmacology (ISE SFEC-2023) will be held from February 24-26, 2023 at the City Convention Centre, Imphal, Manipur with the theme "Reimagine Ethnopharmacology: Globalization of Traditional Medicine."

Dr. Jitendra Singh, who inaugurated the International Conference, stated that it is heartening to see this happening in Manipur, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed the Northeast from a terror label to a peaceful development model over the last 9 years. He also emphasized that previous funds allocated to the North-East did not reach the bottom level, but that since Modi's election as Prime Minister in May 2014, funds have reached the true beneficiaries in the villages and are being used for development.

Concerning the Conference, Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that the Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) is organizing it in collaboration with the Society for Ethno-pharmacology of India and the International Society for Ethno-pharmacology of Switzerland. He praised IBSD for taking the initiative, stating that it is taking place for the development of bio-resources and traditional healer's practices in this region for societal benefit and livelihood generation.

According to Dr. Jitendra Singh, in response to Prime Minister Modi's call for integration, IBSD has organised Industry-Connect (I-Connect) Events in a number of states, including Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Meghalaya, to foster collaboration between industries and institutes. Several NER entrepreneurs shared their knowledge for the development of products/processes/technologies with value addition of bio-resources and development bio-economy from NER bio-resources during this event.

The Minister also stated that this programme encouraged many entrepreneurs to promote the region's unique bio-resources and traditional knowledge, and that IBSD has established a Bio Incubators Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies (BioNEST) incubator at IBSD, Node Meghalaya to develop women entrepreneurship in Meghalaya.

According to Dr. Jitendra Singh, IBSD is working on therapeutic areas such as antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and insect repellents, anti-diabetic, anti-arthritic, anti-bronchial asthma, gastro-protectives, and immuno-modulation. He stated that the institute has conducted metabolomics studies on several medicinal plants with potential therapeutic effects in order to establish their mechanism of action using network pharmacology and synergistic studies, and that he hopes that this research will lead to different transformational approaches from tradition for developing products, processes, and technologies using local bio-resources. This will also aid in the development of traditional knowledge-based therapeutic agents, which will benefit the region's socioeconomic development as well as traditional health care practitioners, he added.

Dr. Jitendra Singh also stated that, in order to catalyse the bio-economy of this region, IBSD is integrating all research areas, including Plant resources; Microbial resources, including traditional foods; Phyto-pharmaceutical Mission, Ethno-pharmacology & Drug Development; Animal resources; Eco-Restoration, Water Quality Management, and Surveillance. The Minister added that all of IBSD's research perspectives are focused on the development of bio-economy from bio-resources, with a special emphasis on NER.

Dr. Jitendra Singh congratulated all of the SFE Annual Awardees on their outstanding contributions to their respective research fields. I am pleased to learn that many researchers have received travel and lodging awards to attend this congress and explore opportunities for the development of this region's bioresources.

The Minister congratulated Prof. Pulok K. Mukherjee, Director of IBSD, and all scientists, researchers, and staff for organising this first-ever congress in Imphal, Manipur, and the North-Eastern Region of India. According to Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary DBT, healthcare in India is at a crossroads because several innovative and disruptive technologies are emerging at a rapid pace. He stated that life expectancy in India is declining, which is a source of concern for the scientific and medical communities.

Dr. Gokhale stated that India has developed four indigenous vaccines in just two years, including ZyCoV-D, the world's first and India's indigenously developed DNA vaccine, CORBEVAXTM, India's first protein subunit vaccine, GEMCOVACTM-19, the world's first and India's indigenously developed mRNA vaccine, and iNCOVACC, the world's first and India's indigenously developed intranasal COVID-19 vaccine.

According to Dr. Gokhale, the IBSD microbial culture collection centre is unique in that it houses a large collection of microbes from NER, which can serve as a potential lead for not only new drug development but also antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research. He stated that IBSD has been working in the area of AMR that is both local and global in nature. IBSD is working on the quality assessment and validation of NER fermented foods in order to develop new products, processes, and technologies.

In his address, Shekhar Dutta, former Governor of Chhattisgarh, stated that India is home to many traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda, Siddha, and Part of Unani, and that Indian Civilisation was taking a keen interest in identifying and utilising bio-resources for medicinal use. He stated that the need of the hour is to develop good collection, storage, and finally good manufacturing practices with Traditional Pharmacology standardisation.

Prof. Marco Leonti, Secretary, ISE & Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Italy, stated in his address that India is showing a strong interest in ethnopharmacology, which is a good sign that more research projects are being undertaken.

Prof Marco believes that IBSD can serve as a model for other regions of India in terms of economic growth and the benefit of the rural population. He stated that the collaboration between the Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) and the International Society for Ethno-pharmacology, Switzerland, would continue in the future.

Prof. Pulok K. Mukherjee, Director of IBSD, stated that in order to fulfil the Prime Minister's vision of Atmanirbahar Bharat, IBSD has established linkages between traditional healers and scientific communities for benefit sharing and promotion of start-ups with Ethno Entrepreneurships based on the development of herbal medicinal based products, fermented foods, edible mushrooms, and insects. The vote of thanks was presented by Mr. Indraneel Das, Vice President of the Society for Ethnopharmacology in Kolkata, India.

The IBSD has established a "Science Museum" at the Maha Union Govt. Higher Secondary School in Chandel, Manipur's Aspirational district. IBSD organises a variety of activities such as webinars, seminars, and lab visits for students from various Manipur schools and colleges in order to promote scientific thinking about the region's local bioresources.

IBSD was founded in 2001 in Imphal by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. This Institute not only serves the people of Manipur in the Northeast, but it also has three separate entities, including a Regional Centre in Gangtok, Sikkim, and Research Nodes in Shillong, Meghalaya, and Aizawl, Mizoram. IBSD has established a Bioresource Park in Hararaou, Imphal for the collection of NER germplasm. Since inception, IBSD has been engaged in research activities and numerous outreach programmes to fulfil the mission for "Bioresources development and their sustainable use through biotechnological interventions for the socio-economic growth of the North Eastern Region".