CSIR-NBRI organized special lecture in memory of  its founder Prof. KN Kaul

Prof. Kailas Nath Kaul was a great Indian botanist, naturalist, agricultural scientist, horticulturist, herbalist and plant collector. On behalf of the State Government of Uttar Pradesh, Prof. Kaul originally conceptualized the setup of the National Botanic Gardens (NBG), currently known as CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute. (It was taken over by the CSIR in 1953).He also contributed to the development of the botanical gardens at Peradeniya (Sri Lanka), Singapore, Bogor (Indonesia), Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Tokyo (Japan), and Manila (Philippines).

On this occasion Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Chairman, ASRB, Department of Agricultural Research & Education, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s welfare, Govt. of India was the Chief Guest and deliver the memorial lecture on Harnessing the power of plants for a sustainable bio-based economy.

Dr. Sanjay Kumar, in his lecture discussed about the importance of bio-based economy for becoming Self Reliant India. He said bio-based economy is going to have important role in the future in this direction. These will include biopharma, bio-research, bio-industry, bio- Agri and Bio IT sectors. Through our efforts in these areas, we will not only help in making next generation products but will also achieve self-reliability in various fields. 

Dr. Kumar discussed about the various challenges and strategies in sustainable use of various bio-resources, especially in ensuring the quantity and quality of bio-resources, proper utilization of land, value addition processes, processing and packing and establishing links with the market. 

He also shared the success story of asafoetida cultivation in Leh and apple cultivation in North-East, real cinnamon cultivation in Himachal and cultivation of new flowers in ornamental flowers. These initiatives increase the farmers income. He called on scientists of the institute to pay more attention to those research works who can benefit general public and industries.

Earlier, the programme was started with a floral tribute to the Prof. KN Kaul. While welcoming the guests, Dr. Ajit Kumar Shasany, Director, CSIR-NBRI commemorate priceless contribution of Prof. KN Kaul in the field of science. He said that CSIR-NBRI is the result of foundation laid by of Prof. Kaul. He also called upon all the scientists to work on dream objectives of Prof. Kaul.
Dr. SK Tewari, Chief Scientist presented the vote of thanks in the end.