"Jammu and Kashmir-born "Aroma Mission" will be among the torchbearers of "Viksit Bharat": Union Minister Jitendra Singh

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], February 3 (ANI): Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said, that Jammu and Kashmir 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.
Singh said the youth of Jammu and Kashmir 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 connections with society for StartUp promotion in the region, was held at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu, today," as per a Ministry of Science and Technology press release.
Describing Jammu and Kashmir's Aroma Mission as a success story, 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.
Jitendra Singh said agri-startups are fast becoming avenues of self-employment for youth of the Union Territory.
"Pitching for more public-private partnerships in agri-startups, 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 the 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, earn their livelihoods in a sustainable manner and contribute to India's GDP," the release stated.
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.
"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 the one-and-a-half lakh mark," the release stated.
Singh 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-recognized vaccine programme, which helped save lakhs of lives across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic," as per the release.
In the space sector, Jitendra Singh informed that investments worth more than one thousand crore rupees has come in the area in just eight months last year.
"Singh said the government has set a target of attracting more than 40 billion dollars 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 dollars by 2040," the release stated.
Jitendra Singh said India has notched up the number of space sector startups since Prime Minister Modi undertook reforms in this sector. (ANI)