Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh: ‘Aroma Mission’ from Jammu and Kashmir to Contribute to ‘Viksit Bharat

Dr Jitendra Singh said, J&K has also become a role model for the rest of India, which was exemplified by the depiction of lavender farms of Bhaderwah town of district Doda, through a tableau on Kartavya Path in the national capital on the occasion of the Republic Day. He said the  youth of J&K  associated with the Aroma StartUps ecosystem have emerged as brand ambassadors of Purple Revolution across the country.

The Union Minister was speaking after chairing the first-of-its-kind meeting with PRIs, including members from DDCs. The meeting, aimed at fostering connect with the society for StartUp promotion in the region, was held at CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu today.

Describing J&K’s Aroma Mission as a success story, Dr Jitendra Singh called for investing time and efforts to harness the hitherto unexplored or under-explored areas, contending that these areas hold the key to propelling India’s economy. Dr Jitendra Singh said, agri startups are fast becoming  avenues of self-employment for youth of the Union Territory.

Pitching for more public-private partnership in agri startups, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the era of silos is over, hence collaboration should be fostered among the two sectors. Underlining the importance of generating awareness about cultivation of Himalayan resources like lavender, he called upon the DDC members to play their part in this endeavour so that a large number of youth in their  areas can join agri start-ups and earn their livelihoods in a sustainable manner and contribute to India’s GDP.

The Minister also called upon CSIR-IIIM to conduct research and find out which new crops are feasible for cultivation based on the topography of different regions of Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr Jitendra Singh stressed that more and more people need to be engaged in the agri-startup ecosystem. The Minister informed that in the last ten years under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the number of start-ups in the country has crossed one-and-a-half lakh  mark. He further informed that India’s bio-economy is currently valued at over 140 billion from 10 billion a decade ago. The Minister expressed happiness at India being known as a leader in preventive healthcare in the world, thanks to its much recognised vaccine programme which helped save lakhs of lives across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Space sector, Dr Jitendra Singh informed that investment worth more than one thousand crore rupees has come in the area in just eight months last year. He said the government has set a target of attracting more than 40 billion Dollar investment by 2040 in space. But, India is expected to exceed the target, according to the recent ADL (Arthur D Little) Report which said the country is projected to reach 100 Billion Dollar by 2040.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, India has notched up the number of Space sector Startups since Prime Minister Modi  undertook reforms in this sector.