CSIR-NIIST’s ‘One Week One Lab’ conclave to focus on MSME sector

Farmers’ meet and millet expo highlights of March 13-18 event

Trivandrum / February 28, 2023

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb. 28: The six-day ‘One Week One Lab (OWOL)’ programme of CSIR-NIIST, which aims to showcase the legacy, innovations and technological breakthroughs achieved by the laboratory, will focus on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and evolving ways to support the sector.

“The whole programme of OWOL is designed in a way that leads to support and encourage the MSME sector. Around 64 million industries are depending on MSME and last year, about 30 per cent of our GDP’s contribution came from this sector,” Dr C Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram, told a press conference here today. 

As part of OWOL, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), a laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt of India, has planned a series of programmes at its campus at Pappanamcode here from March 13-18.

Dr Anandharamakrishnan said as part of the International Year of Millets (IYM), a Millet Food Festival and expo will be held on the sidelines of OWOL. IYM was approved by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the UN to promote the consumption of millets across the globe.

There will also be a farmers’ meet, which would be attended by regional farmers. “We need inputs not only from scientific community but also from farmers and stakeholders,” he noted. 

Another highlight of the event is the two exclusive sessions by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) on March 13 on fundings and startup ecosystem.

Dr N Kalaiselvi, Director General, CSIR and Secretary, DSIR, will inaugurate the OWOL programme at the CSIR-NIIST campus on March 13 at 10 am. Dr Anandharamakrishnan will preside over the function where Prof V K Ramachandran, Vice Chairperson, Kerala State Planning Board, will be the Guest of Honour.

Prof Javed Iqbal, Chairman, CSIR-NIIST Research Council, and Dr Nishy, Convenor, OWOL, will also be present on the occasion.  

A one-day conclave on “Ayurswasthya”, to be held on March 14, will celebrate Ayurveda, the heritage medicinal system of India.

Meanwhile, Prof Vinod Kumar Singh, Chair Professor, IIT Kanpur, inaugurated the curtain raiser of OWOL at CSIR-NIIST campus, marking the National Science Day.  

In his address, Prof Singh urged researchers to focus on quality research, besides adopting innovation in teaching and research.

Prof Singh said in order to have sustainable development, it is imperative to be very strong in science that can be used in technology. “If you are moving towards excellence in science and technology, key aspects such as good governance, infrastructure, management and leadership are extremely important. More things can be achieved if these areas are strengthened,” he added.

Dr Anandharamakrishnan presided over the function where Shri M Chandradathan, Mentor (Science) to Chief Minister of Kerala; and Dr Sukumar Devotta, Former Director, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, were also present.  A teaser video and an official brochure of OWOL programme were also released at the function.

Dr T P D Rajan, Sr. Principal Scientist, CSIR-NIIST and Chairman, APC, welcomed the gathering. Dr K N Narayanan Unni, Sr. Principal Scientist, CSIR-NIIST and Chairman, OWOL Curtain Raiser Committee, proposed thanks.

In the technical session that followed, Dr M Ravi, Chief Scientist and Head, MSTD, CSIR-NIIST; Dr Sukumar Devotta; and Dr C D Madhusoodana, General Manager (R&D), BHEL, Bengaluru, spoke.

Another session on ‘Conclave on Role of Women in Interdisciplinary Science and Technology’ was attended by Dr P Sujatha Devi, Chief Scientist, CSTD, CSIR-NIIST; Dr T D Mercy, Group Director, Energy Systems Division, VSSC; Dr Hyacinth Mary Bastian, GM, Novel Materials (R&D), Shell Technology Centre, Bengaluru; and Dr R S Jayasree, Head, Department of Biomaterial Sciences and Technology, SCTIMST, Thiruvananthapuram.

Public can visit the venue on the final day of the conclave where a live demo of 2G Ethanol processing plant and biogas production from the food waste can be viewed from 9 am to 4 pm.