Amity Institute of Microbial Technology celebrates its “13th Foundation Day”
New Delhi: Amity Institute of Microbial Technology (AIMT) celebrated its “13th Foundation Day” at Amity Campus, Sector- 125, Noida.
During the occasion, Prof. (Dr.) Henry H Chen, Counselor and Director, S&T, Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre India, New Delhi; Dr. Shashi Kumar from ICGEB, Delhi; Dr. A. Arunachalam, Principal Scientist & Scientific Officer, ICAR, New Delhi; Dr. Snehal Joshi, Advisor, DSTA R&D Technology Sugarcane Growers, The Deccan Sugar Technologies Association, Pune, Maharashtra and Dr. Ashok K Chauhan, Founder President, Amity Education Group shared their views.
Welcoming the august gathering, Dr. Ajit Varma- Vice Chairman, Amity Science, Technology and Innovation Foundation and Distinguished Scientist, Amity Institute of Microbial Technology (AIMT) shared a brief report about the programmes offered by the Institute, placement record, National and International workshops organized by the Institute, various R&D initiatives, Patents filed and research papers published by scientists and faculty members. He apprised about “Rootonic- the Magic Fungus”- a unique innovative product developed by him and his researchers which aids in early seed germination, provides resistance against diseases, improves soil fertility and boost the growth of the plant.
Dr. Ashok K Chauhan, Founder President, Amity Education Group congratulated Dr. Ajit Varma for the immense R&D initiatives taken by Amity Institute of Microbial Technology under his able leadership and guidance. He encouraged the students to ignite their minds towards innovation. He apprised about the importance of patent filing and advised them to patent the brilliant ideas or innovations of students as well since it will further motivate them in their researches which will eventually benefit the society at large.
Sharing his views on “Synthetic biology of algae for higher biofuel and biosafety issues”, Dr. Shashi Kumar, ICGEB said that considering the rapid rate of fossil fuel depletion, many countries are now heavily investing in biofuel generation from algae to include the use of genetic modification (GM) research for enhancing the baseline biofuel qualities. He mentioned that India has also started to take its footsteps towards the algae production for biofuel production. Raising the concern over regulatory policies, he apprised that GM algae represent a relatively new research frontier, and so far, no internationally-agreed regulations, policies or standards are currently in use. Dr. Kumar stressed that there are various myths surrounding GM Algae , hence, he appealed to spread more awareness regarding its benefits and further added that even Indian Government has been supporting the GM revolution.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. (Dr.) Henry H Chen, Counselor and Director, S&T, Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre India talked about ‘Prospect for Building Indo-Taiwan Scientific & Technological Cooperation’ and said that there are various agreements between India and Taiwan and under the MoUs 70 joint projects and 21 joint workshops had been conducted. He stated that the focus is on shifting Taiwan industry towards high value added, service and solution oriented industry in which they seek the research and technology support from India.
During the occasion, Dr. Snehal Joshi, Advisor, DSTA R&D Technology Sugarcane Growers, The Deccan Sugar Technologies Association, Pune, Maharashtra delivered a lecture on ‘Sustainable Sugarcane Production Technology’ and Dr. A. Arunachalam Principal Scientist & Scientific Officer, ICAR, New Delhi presented a brief presentation on ‘Indian Agriculture and Food Policy’