Rajamahendravaram: CTRI celebrates platinum jubilee on a grand note
The representatives of the Tobacco Board, ICAR and CTRI organisations and public representatives unveiling the 12-foot pylon erected on the institution premises in Rajamahendravaram on Wednesday
Rajamahendravaram : Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) celebrated its platinum jubilee here on Wednesday. Assistant Director General (Commercial Agriculture and Seed), ICAR Dr DK Yadava took part as the chief guest in the celebrations.
He expressed his happiness as CTRI is catering to 90 per cent of the seed requirement of the farmers, which shows trustworthiness. Tobacco is a low-volume and high-value cash crop and can be exploited for foreign exports. He stressed the importance of Climate resilient technologies in the new mandate and changing scenario of the crops.
CTRI can collaborate with Engineering Institutes to achieve this goal.
MP Maargani Bharath Ram advised scientists of CTRI to have a detailed discussion to prioritise research on commercial crops based on market demand. He requested CTRI to encourage the entrepreneurs and FPOs to establish small-scale industries for turmeric and ashwagandha value-added products.
MLA Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary said that the presence of CTRI itself is recognition for Rajahmundry. BJP national executive member Somu Veerraju said that the alternative uses and by-products of tobacco are to be identified and commercialised. He assured that he will always support the new mandate of NIRCA and praised the service of CTRI-KVKs.
Tobacco Board Chairman C Yashwanth Kumar briefed about the origin and development of tobacco cultivation in India. Dr K Padma Raju, Vice-Chancellor, Adikavi Nannaya University said that they have recently signed a MoU with CTRI and the collaboration will benefit students for their research and academics.
CTRI Director Dr M Sheshu Madhav welcomed the dignitaries and explained about the research achievements of CTRI. The guests unveiled the 12-foot pylon commemorating the platinum jubilee celebrations.
Former directors Dr K Deo Singh, Dr V Krishna Murthy, Dr TGK Murthy, and eminent scientist Dr R Laxmi Narayana, Technical Members YV Surya Narayana, R Sudhakar, M Rambabu, A Sreedhar, Kotababu and E Radha Krishna were facilitated and about 10 scientific publications were released on the occasion.