As far as perceptions are concerned , these are changing . The plant based medicines are becoming highly relevant due to lesser or no side effects at all .
Does NBRI have enough fund allocation for its research activities ?
We have enough funds . There is need for devotion to research nothing else .
You earlier mentioned that your institute has developed resistant variety of Bt Cotton ? Please elaborate ?
One of our developed a transgenic variety of cotton in view of white fly problem mostly in northern India . It is white fly resistant cotton . The gene introduced from a resistant plant into cotton plant helped us to develop this variety . We are on our way to sign the agreement with Punjab Agriculture University and we are going to multiply it and introduce the plants for field trials .
Which are the other important disease areas where research to develop drugs is being conducted ?
Our scientists are working on plant based solutions for Urolithiasis where the kidney stones are in the process of development or nephrolethiois in which stones are small , hard mineral deposits that form inside your kidneys . Besides that , we are working on various nutritional foods as well . We take leads from the various literature in Ayurveda . based on whatever targets are given to us by the government . Our mission is to provide solutions to various lifestyle and other diseases affecting the large populations in India .
Phytopharma regulations are yet to be defined . How do you look at it ?
As you are aware that GMOs are also not yet approved in India and the regulatory process is still in progress . Similarly , I am sure that the technology will evolve and the regulations in phytopharma will be ensured . Various technologies in CSIR institutes are under incubation and it will be a big sector in coming times .
How does the CSIR institutes working on plants choose their varieties ? Any major factors ?
India has got vast landscape rich in natural resources . On one side , we have Himalayas and other side deserts . There are areas with vast sea too . So , the regional climate
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In the eastern parts of country particularly in West Bengal , we have the problem of arsenic . The contamination through the flow of this arsenic into plants and vegetables , leads to hazardous effects on health . We have developed the new rice plant variety in coordination with the Department of Agriculture , Govt of West Bengal to tackle that .
and landscape determine the presence of plant species . We have so many research institutes in India . PM Modi has released few varieties for South India . There are various plant varieties being worked upon at the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology in Himachal Pradesh even the ones from Lahaul Spiti area . Similarly , the institutes working in some other part will focus on the plant varieties relevant to its coverage .
CSIR has completed 75 years . What are your feelings on this achievement vis a vis its role in promoting traditional therapies ?
India is rich in unique traditional medicines . We have cultural heritages and folklore with so many remedies . There is lot of scope to explore the new medicinal plants which perhaps have been already discovered in long past but remain unknown to the new generations . If you see , the CSIR has got tremendous knowledge in its store . The CSIR ’ s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library ( TKDL is filled with so much information on ethnic knowledge on medicinal herbs .
There are three major pillars of CSIR : Physical , Chemical and Biological . All these areas are highly relevant to India . I believe this is the time to do the translational research in all the areas . We have to go for the paradigm shift in our approach .
Have the CSIR ’ s research outcomes not been publicized in the past they should have been ?
When we started in 60 ’ s , we discovered the ink used in elections and also the baby food . We started early but perhaps the exposure was less . The research used to be confined within laboratory walls . Now in the era of whatsapp , things of course have changed . The advent of electronic media has brought the relevance of science to the doorsteps of common man , which is good .
BIOVOICENEWS . COM 13