State universities to pool resources for biotech study

Universities from across the state will meet to look for common ground in areas of biotechnology research at the behest of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Vice-Chancellor Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon. The institutions that are slated to participate are Punjabi University,Patiala,Panjab University,Chandigarh,National Agro Biotechnology Institute,Mohali,Guru Nanak Dev University,Amritsar and the Guru Angad dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University,Ludhiana. The date of the meeting,however,is yet to be finalised.

Divulging details Dr Dhillon said: “At present resources available with any institute are limited while challenges are high. So we are looking for a synergy in research projects,things that we could do together,pool our resources and plan our researches in tandem. As we are an agriculture university crop biotechnology is our key area where we are looking for some joint projects. I had called upon the vice-chancellors and heads of these institutes who have agreed to the proposal. Director Research PAU is finalising the details of the meetings”.

Dr Dhillon further said: “When I was working as Director Research here at PAU,I had called this meeting at that time too. However no one pursued the matter after I retired. So in a way I am reviving the project.” After his retirement from PAU Dr Dhillon served at GNDU Amritsar for four months as its research director.

“Research in biotechnology is expensive but the break through in crop science lies here. We have reached a plateau as far as crop yields are concerned but at the same time the number of mouths that we need to feed is growing each day,hence we need to explore this area,” said the PAU vice-chancellor.