40th foundation day of IHBT celebrated

Palampur, July 2

The 40th foundation day of the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, was celebrated here on Saturday.

Dr T Ramasami, former secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, delivered a speech on “Towards sustainable bioeconomy path of Himalayan biosphere”. Apart from highlighting the contributions made by CSIR-IHBT in society over the last 40 years, Dr Ramasami also suggested to focus upon developing technological solutions for sustainable bioeconomy. He is of the opinion that CSIR-IHBT has to play a crucial role of serving the nation as a path ?nder towards sustainable economy using resources available in Himalayan biosphere. He emphasised on three pillars for sustainable development i.e. bearable, equitable and viable.

Earlier, the director of the institute, Dr Sanjay Kumar presented an annual report of the institute for 2021-22. He said under the Phase II of the Aroma Mission, the institute covered an area of 1,398 hectares under aromatic crops and expanded its cultivation in 12 states and two Union Territories. During the year, Himachal Pradesh has maintained its position as the top producer of marigold oil in the country with a production of 7.3 tonne of oil with institutional efforts.

Under the Floriculture Mission, the area was expanded to 350 hectares, benefiting 1,004 farmers.