Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Nov 14: A three-day conference-cum-workshop on “AI-Driven Innovations in Drug Discovery and Agriculture (AI-D2A 2025)” concluded today at the BIRAC-BioNEST Incubator, Industrial Biotech Park, Ghatti, Kathua.
The event was organised by CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM) Jammu, BIRAC–BioNEST Incubator and CSIR–Jigyasa, and brought together researchers, students and experts from across the country.
In a special video message, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh praised CSIR-IIIM for hosting an event focused on the future of science and technology.
He said that organising such a conference in Kathua holds special importance, as the district connects Jammu & Kashmir with neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
He appreciated the participation of 75 young researchers from 14 institutions and said that at least 20 local students had gained valuable exposure.
He added that nearly half of India’s 1.7 lakh start-ups are now emerging from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and initiatives like the BioNEST Incubator will motivate youth in smaller towns to innovate.
CSIR-IIIM Director Dr Zabeer Ahmed said the institute is committed to using Artificial Intelligence to support drug discovery, plant sciences and entrepreneurship.
He reiterated that under the guidance of Dr Jitendra Singh, CSIR-IIIM will continue conducting training programmes and workshops at the BioNEST Incubator to strengthen skill development among young scientists.
The final day began with a talk by Dr Karan Nathwani from IIT Jammu on “AI is Ubiquitous,” stressing the need to harmonise AI tools with human creativity.
Over three days, 11 domain experts delivered lectures on AI applications in genomics, drug discovery, molecular modelling, and cheminformatics.
The workshop included hands-on sessions on Python programming, machine learning workflows, data processing and model evaluation.
The event saw enthusiastic participation from institutions including SKUAST Jammu, University of Jammu, NIPER Mohali, Punjab Agricultural University, CSIR-IGIB, CSIR-CSMCERI, Thapar University Patiala and others. To encourage local talent, 20 students from GDC Kathua and UIET (JU Kathua Campus) were offered free registration. The sessions were also live-streamed on CSIR-IIIM’s social media platforms.
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