Jammu, March 25 A five days National Hands-on Workshop on "Taxonomic Identification & Authentication of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants & Crude Drugs in Biodiversity Conservation, Traditional Knowledge and Drug Discovery" concluded on Saturday .
The workshop was organized by Janaki Ammal Herbarium and CDR, Plant Sciences & Agro-technology Division of CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu (IIIM) under CSIR-Skill Development Initiative in collaboration with CSIR-Aroma Mission and Society for Ethnopharmacology (SFE), India Jammu.
Director IIIM Dr. Zabeer Ahmed in his address congratulated the participants for successfully completing the workshop and appreciated the efforts of the organizers and student volunteers in organizing the event.
He informed participants about the rich scientific legacy and strengths of IIIM in the field of Drug Discovery from Natural Resources and encouraged participants to take full advantage of the expertise and facilities available at IIIM.
Nodal Scientist Skill Development Dr Nasir ul Rasheed informed that more than 30 Programmes under CSIR-Integrated Skill initiatives have been organised in FY 2022-23, benefitting more than 750 participants.
Director, Quality Assurance, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, New Delhi Dr. Ajai Prakash Gupta talked on the Quality Control and Quality assurance of herbal medicine and food products.
Chief Scientist Er. Abdul Rahim stressed the need to learn advanced scientific techniques in the field. He suggested that the integration of Taxonomy and Drug discovery research with the field of Artificial Intelligence will be the key to success in the future.
He thanked Director CSIR-IIIM Jammu Dr Zabeer Ahmed and Chief Scientist Er Abdul Rahim for their constant support and encouragement in organising such Skill Development, Capacity building and Entrepreneurship programmes.
Earlier, Principal Scientist and Coordinator of the Workshop Dr. Sumeet Gairola welcomed the guests and briefly apprised participants about activities conducted during the past five days of the workshop.
He informed that a total of 25 participants including 13 women researchers from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, and J&K attended this workshop.
He further stated that nineteen lectures and six Hands-on training sessions on the relevant theme of the workshop were conducted for the benefit of the participants.
Nineteen eminent experts from the fields of Plant Taxonomy, Biodiversity Conservation, Traditional Knowledge, and Drug Discovery from different parts of the country visited IIIM Jammu and presented invited lectures in their respective fields.
Dr. VP Rahul, Senior Scientist, IIIM presented the vote of thanks. Several senior scientists, staff, and students were also present during the valedictory function. Participants shared their gratitude and experiences with organizers and other dignitaries for organising such programmes.
