Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), Imphal organized Brainstorming on Medicinal Plants for Rural Livelihood and Drug Development in North East Region of India under the programme on Bioeconomy from Bioresources in connection with the International Biodiversity Day celebration under the leadership of Prof. Pulok K. Mukherjee, Director, IBSD jointly with CSIR-North East Institute of Science & Technology, Jorhat and Society for Ethnopharmacology, Kolkata. 

During the programme, Chief Guest, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, Govt. of India joined virtually and addressed the gathering about various research initiatives and outreach activities of IBSD for the societal upliftment and livelihood generation in NER under the leadership of Prof. Pulok K. Mukherjee, Director, IBSD, Imphal. 

Dr. Singh appreciated the efforts of IBSD to establish the “Science Museum” in Chandel Aspirational District of Manipur to inculcate scientific temperament among students. He further echoed that research of IBSD will lead to different traditional approaches from tradition for developing products, processes and technologies with local bioresources.

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Dr. Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Scientist, DBT, New Delhi highlighted the unique biodiversity available in NER which can be harnessed scientifically for boosting the bioeconomy of this region. He mentioned various initiatives of the Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India under DBT, CSIR, DST, ICMR for documentation of traditional knowledge and medicinal plants of the region. He emphasized focusing on translating knowledge to practice in the form of tangible products/ processes/ technology from bioeconomy perspectives. 

During the programme, Dr. G. Narahari Sastry, Director, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat, Dr Mohd Aslam, Consultant, NERPBMC-DBT, New Delhi, Prof Ashis K. Mukherjee, Director, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati, Dr. Vaishali Panjabi, Scientist E, DBT, Govt. of India,  Indraneel Das, Vice President, Society for Ethnopharmacology, Kolkata, Dr Subhash C. Mondal, Secretary, Society for Ethnopharmacology, India, Dr Pallab Kanti Halder, Director, School of Natural Products, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Dr. H. B. Singh, Dr. Jatin Kalita, Scientist, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat, Dr Junie P. Lyngdoh, Scientist, BRDC, Shillong, Govt. of Meghalaya shared their ideas on the use of medicinal plants for livelihood generation and drug development. 

Many experts from industries, Dr. C. K. Katiyar, CEO (Technical), Emami Limited, Kolkata, Dr Arun Gupta, Director, Ayu Swasth Pvt Ltd,  Inderneel Das, Declibac Technologies Pvt Ltd highlighted establishing a value chain for products development. 

During the programme, more than 30 traditional healers of Manipur interacted with experts about their traditional medicines/ formulations. The programme was attended by scientists, scholars, staff of IBSD, CSIR-NEIST and other institutions.

This brainstorming meeting was very effective for all the stakeholders and successful with the involvement of industrialists, scientists, students, and traditional healers to promote Himalayan resources for the development of bioeconomy from bioresources through the Himalayan Bioresources Mission. 

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