CSIR-NEIST focusses on 'Aroma Mission', 'Jigyasa' & Medical R&D

JORHAT/ITANAGAR: In sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of new India and SSR (Scientific Social Responsibility) of the Science community and Institutions, a team of scientists from CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat, led by its Director, G Narahari Sastry, visited several farmers and their field locations and schools to propagate the scientific temper in Arunachal Pradesh and upper Assam recently.

'JIGYASA' is one such ambitious programme. It aim at creating the academia-scientific ecosystem. Under the aegis of 'JIGYASA', a team of scientists led by Dr G. Narahari Sastry, Director of CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat, Assam distributed books, laboratory apparatus and saplings of medicinal plants in three schools of Upper Assam town of Moran. These schools are viz. Batamara High School, Nehru Hindi Vidyalaya and Moran Higher Secondary School. It is a major endeavour on the part of CSIR to reach out to schools in order to provide a linkage to research institutions so as to implement a well-planned and systematic research laboratory-oriented teaching and learning. Similar exercises were also carried out in three Dibrugarh schools, namely Dibrugarh Government Girls HS and MP School, Dibrugarh VKV and Dibrugrah Bengali High School.

The team also visited ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, (ICMR-RMRC) Dibrugarh on 18 August, 2021 and called upon the Director, ICMR-RMRC and had a meeting a core scientist of the institute on SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing. It may be mentioned that thre insititutions of NE India -- CSIR-NEIST, ICMR-RMRC and DBT-IHBT, Imphal -- are jointly working for genome sequencing of SARs-CoV-2 variants.

On August, 2021 Dr Sastry inaugurated the seventh 'Multilocational Trial & Regional Research Experimental Farm' established by the CSIR-NEIST under the 'CSIR Aroma Mission' at Dhemaji, Assam. Under the CSIR-AROMA MISSION Phase-II an Essential Oil Distillation Unit was commissioned at Laimekuri, Dhemaji District, Assam. This has been done to boost Rural Entrepreneurship and to augment the living of the rural dwellers. CSIR-NEIST has the mandate to cater to all the NE India states. Thus, similar distillation units were also commissioned in Oyun and Runne of East Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh. CSIR-NEIST can take bow for achieving a feat by installing 29 such distillation units throughout the NE India under the 'CSIR Aroma Mission'.

The team from CSIR-NEIST winded up the tour by holding meeting with Dr Raina Dukhum, Joint Director, Health Services, Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. They discussed various aspects connected with the screening and confirmatory tests of COVID-19 samples of Pasighat. Both the sides agreed to cooperate in all endeavours.

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