The National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) here, a constituent lab of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), will direct its efforts towards promoting rubber cultivation as part of a broader strategy to cut down India’s dependence on imports.
The NIIST will prepare a white paper – essentially a set of proposals – and submit it to the CSIR, N. Kalaiselvi, director general, CSIR, told reporters on the sidelines of the One Week One Lab (OWOL) programme which opened at the NIIST on Monday.
Dr. Kalaiselvi said the idea is to popularise rubber cultivation as a climate-resilient crop wherever possible. It will help create new industries, jobs, products and processes and help double the income of farmers, she said.
The initiative is part of a CSIR programme for enhancing farmers’ incomes and enabling CSIR labs to focus on crops in their respective regions, said Dr. Kalaiselvi, drawing attention to the country’s dependence on imports for rubber-based value-added products.
‘’Since we have a place which is known for its heritage in rubber (in a reference to Kerala), why should we depend on other countries?’‘ she said, indicating that the initiative is in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.
Kerala government agencies already involved in the rubber sector will be roped in for the NIIST programme, she said, adding that the white paper will be drafted in a manner that encourages collaboration with the State. ‘’’We have told our labs that wherever they are situated, the connect between the Centre and the State governments should be ensured in as many ways as possible,’‘ said Dr. Kalaiselvi.
On the decisions that were part of the 2015 Dehradun Declaration related to CSIR labs, she said the CSIR has since then placed greater thrust on intellectual property (IP) filing and commercialisation of technologies. ‘‘Commercialisation has given us a new visibility. External cash flow has definitely increased, by means of which labs are having their own reserve funds,’‘ she pointed out.
