Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, Parshottam Rupala, inaugurated ‘Camel Product Processing Utilisation & Training Wing’ at ICAR-National Research Centre on Camel (ICAR-NRCC) in Bikaner, Rajasthan on Sunday.
The Camel Product Processing Utilisation & Training Wing at the centre has been inaugurated by taking into consideration the immense opportunities that this sector holds.
At the occasion, Rupala interacted with pastoralists and the pastoral community at the research centre. Further, the minister also visited the facilities of the institute and had interactions with the scientist and domain experts. Detailed discussions followed on the significance of the inception of this product processing wing and the ways in which the same shall benefit the pastoral community.
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While inaugurating the Camel Product Processing Utilisation & Training Wing, Rupala said, ‘With the animal husbandry sector emerging as one of the diversified drivers of economic growth and rural income, there is a need for technological infusion, public investments, and policy reforms. Further, the union minister also said that this centre is not only beneficial to the pastoral communities in the state of Rajasthan, but India as a whole. The ministry aims to work in tandem with the stakeholders for the continued growth of the livestock sector, he added.
ICAR–NRCC is a premier research centre and an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. Considering the importance of camel in the socio-economic development of arid and semi-arid zones, the Government of India established a Project Directorate on Camel at Bikaner (India) on 5th July 1984 under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) which was upgraded to National Research Centre on Camel (NRCC) on September 20, 1995.
The Centre has been identified as one of the important tourist places of Bikaner and is included in the tourist book. A camel museum is available to apprise them of the developmental and research aspects of the camel in the desert ecosystem. Every year thousands of foreign and Indian tourists visit the Centre.
Post the inauguration session, later during the day, the minister also visited the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav, organised by Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The Mahotsav is the National Cultural Festival of India was conceptualised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India in 2015 to celebrate the spirit of tradition, culture, heritage, and diversity of India.
Parshottam Rupala interacted with various representatives present at the Mahotsav, organised at the occasion. He said, ‘Such events provide a good opportunity to interact with and showcase the eminent and unique culture of India across domains. These events also bring together people from different areas of work to come together on one platform to share their ideas, network, and learn from each other, he added.
