Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Sciences, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology, MoS PMO and Minister of State Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances today said that Kashmir has huge StartUp potential in Agriculture and Dairy sectors which is largely unexplored.
He said, though Covid caught us unaware, it made us realise our intrinsic potential and capacities.
He was speaking at the inauguration of a two-day International Conference on Coronaviruses organised by the Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) at its Shalimar Campus.
Dr Singh said diseases evolve with time and the whole of the medical fraternity was unprepared for a challenge of the magnitude as posed by Covid. He appreciated the efforts of all stakeholders for rising up to the challenge despite the limitations they faced.
Commenting on India’s successful vaccination drive, the minister said that India had fared a lot better than many of the European countries and it was possible under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Dr Singh congratulated the authorities at SKUAST for holding this first-of-a-kind conference immediately after the end of the pandemic. He said all the people are connected to this theme and all are stakeholders in some way or the other.
Dr Singh expressed happiness that the Department of Biotechnology had provided funding for some of the pioneering research during the pandemic and expressed hope that it would continue to do so in the future.
The minister talked about the immense potential of the youth of the country and especially the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He said it is our responsibility to hunt for the best brains and provide them with all sorts of assistance so that they can achieve what they strive for.
Commenting that the youth should look beyond government jobs as a source of livelihood, Dr Singh said that start-ups are the thing of the future and the youth should prepare themselves for a change in mindset. He said that India has around 70,000 start-ups now as compared to just a few hundred some years back.
Dr Singh said that agriculture and dairy sectors have immense potential in a place like Kashmir and the youngsters should evaluate the opportunities that lay in front of them in these fields. He assured all possible help to the youth from the government in setting up employment generating units for themselves.
The minister said that the world has started to look up to Shri Narendra Modi as a global leader. He added that the world is ready to be led by India, but the question is whether we are ready to lead the world.