JAMMU, Nov 21: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh today said that public private partnership is critical for leading innovation in lifesciences.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the PPP model in the field of medicine and life sciences will help in creating a sustained ecosystem for research and innovation in the country. He was addressing the GISICON 2025 conference at ASCOMS, Sidhra today. The two day conference of Gastro Intestinal Infections Society of India’s (GISICON) is being organized on the theme “ Brain Gut Axis: two Lane expressway” with participation of doctors and researchers from leading medical institutions from various parts of the country.
While lauding the efforts of the organizers Dr Jitendra Singh said that organizing a conference of such a scale in Jammu by a non –government body was a welcome step for promoting research culture in the UT. He said that the demarcation of public and private sector is a thing of the past and now the era of collaboration and joint research is making its way into various sectors including Life sciences. He added that we need to adjust to this new alignment so as to for providing inclusive healthcare services to the public.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that in various sectors like space, atomic energy and earth sciences, private sector is already playing a crucial role for driving innovation and now is making its way in the field of medicine, biotechnology and lifesciences. With developments in recent years in the field of lifesciences research we have been able to bring India out of the slumber and are making it future ready so that India is no longer known as a late initiator in research and innovation.
The Minister remarked that for India to make a mark at a global level there are two prerequisites- firstly we need be consistent and secondly we need to make landmark progress in the related fields. He added that we can’t fall back on laurels of yesterday to carve out a niche for India in the future at a global stage.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that the government under the leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi is making made huge advancements in field of preventive care. While exemplifying, he said that India was the first country to come out with COVID vaccine during the pandemic. The covid vaccine that was also provided to various countries under Vaccine Maitri showcasing the potential of India to emerge as a leader in preventive care and not just focusing on therapeutic care, like earlier. He added that the Department of Biotechnology has developed HPV vaccine for cervical cancer prevention that is a testament to the growing stature of India at the global stage in the field of preventive care.
Dr Jitendra Singh also referred to India’s first indigenous antibiotic, Nafithromycin, and the successful gene therapy trials for hemophilia published in new England Journal of Medicine. Dr Singh emphasized for greater public private collaboration in the field of medicine saying that such collaboration will help sustain research and provide an ecosystem for innovation in a sustainable way for future generations.
Later , the Minister felicitated Dr MS Khuroo, Former Director SKIMS Soura who was the keynote speaker at the conference. The two day conference has an enlightening line up of sessions on holistic healthcare, Gut microbiome in health and disease, Parkinson and Gut, Neuromodulation and Gut-Brain axis, FMT in liver, etc., with a galaxy of speakers from leading medical institutions from various parts of the country.
Dr Pawan Malhotra, Principal-Director, ASCOMS, Swami Prem Vivekanand ji, President ASCOMS Society and Patron in chief, Dr Bela Mahajan, HoD Microbiology, ASCOMS, Dr Anil Gupta, HOD, Medicine, ASCOMS were present at the conference among other researchers, doctors and academicians. The Gastrointestinal Infection Society of India was established in 2007 with the objective of disseminating information, promoting research and collaboration related to gastrointestinal problems.
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