Kashmir valley is known, globally, for its charm and beauty. It is known as the Paradise on Earth and is also called as the Switzerland of Asia for its mesmerizing beauty, natural landscape, mountain ranges, gushing water streams, huge lakes, lush green forests, meadows, etc. Someone has rightly summarized its beauty in these words: With the gushing rivers, shiny waterfalls, picturesque surroundings and the lush green forests, it has always appealed tourists, of different parts of India as well as from different countries of the world. The emerald valley of Kashmir is cradled in the (foothills of) Himalayas under the crystal blue skies, against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains silvery streams, rivers, fresh water lakes, pine, deodar and chinar forests, snow clad mountains, sparkling waterfalls, shikaras, green meadows and grassy slopes full of flowers of vibrant colors. Kashmir is one of the most picturesque areas in the north India and is thus often referred to as “Crown of India. That is to say, Kashmir occupies a special place in India, not only because of its geographic location and its scenic splendor but also for its great contributions to the arts and culture.Every corner of the beautiful Valleybe it in South, North or Central Kashmiris worth to visit; however, some famous destinations and attractions include Dal Lake, Botanical garden, Tulip garden and the Mughal Gardens (Nishat and Shalimar) in Srinagarthe summer capital of J&K; Sonamarg in Central Kashmirs Ganderbal; Gulmarg and Lolab valley in North Kashmir; Pahalgam, Kokernag and Aharbal (waterfall) in South Kashmir. These destinations, especially Pahalgam and Gulmarg, are visited not only in summer season but in winter season as well when whole valley is covered with the silver blanket (snow). It is rightly said: Every other beauty simply vanishes or feels less when you once see how beautiful Kashmir is.
The valley, the mountains and the river everything about the stunning land continues to elevate its beauty at all the junctions throwing new surprises. Kashmir is not just a place but an emotion that every person wants to experience. It is most famous for its serene lakes, sprinkling throughout the province. For instance, an evening on the shores of Dal Lake and a calm ride on the Shikaras (boats) bestows one with inner peace, whosoever visits and spends moments there: Kashmir breathes within its locals and visitors alike with a pulse that they can sense, a heartbeat that they can feel and an expression that they can personify. Similarly, the adventure activities in the snowcapped mountains and meadows in the winter (especially at Gulmarg) and fast flowing river rafting (in famous Lidder stream at Pahalgam) are really mind blowing and outstanding experiences. There are many places that purify ones soul; and thus, it is rightly said that Kashmir is not just a place but an emotion that every person wants to experience; and Kashmir is that beautiful poetry of God which he wrote while experiencing together the highest form of happiness and deepest sorrow. The valley never fails to amaze tourists. Moreover, Kashmir is also one the most visited Pilgrimage state in India. The Hindu pilgrims throughout country visit the holiest Hindu shrine at Amarnath Cave (located in the Lidder valley of Pahalgam, district Anantnag). Similarly, the most sacred shrine of Muslims, Dargah Hazratbal, is located on the bans of Dal Lake (Srinagar). Another famous historical site is Hari Parbat (also known as Koh-i-Maran), which lies on the west of Dal Lake in Srinagar, where a Mosque, a Temple and a Guruduwara stand side by side portraying the communal/ religious harmony and brotherhood among the people of different religions in the state.
(Author is EVS Lecturer at Govt Higher Secondary School Kheelani Doda. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author but aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
Food and nutritional security: Can science provide a helping hand?
Vibha Dhawan, Kiran Kumar Sharma
Over the past few decades, science has made huge strides in the improvement of crops for food, feed, and forage across the globe. Fascinatingly, there has been a constant developmental change in both crop and healthcare systems that has helped us discover newer technologies with each passing decade. However, globally, the demand for food has spiked due to the ever-growing human population and increasing demand of more nutritious and safely produced food. Besides, the recent geo-politics has exacerbated concerns for food and nutritional security, especially in the very near future. Thus, ensuring food security not just in terms of calorific needs but diminishing nutritional security from the natural resources has become a matter of challenge. Both national and international agricultural research systems have set up goals to achieve better resilient high-yielding cultivars in a reduced time frame to achieve these needs. Precision plant breeding is increasingly being undertaken in the modernized crop breeding platforms to provide transformational solutions to the “game changing” traits to accomplish the intended increases in the rate of genetic gains. Cutting edge technologies likegenetic engineering, and now CRISPR offers possibilities that are beyond the reach of most conventional breeding techniques. It is important to point out that agro- biotechnology, including marker-assisted precision breeding and GM-technology for imparting intractable traits that are unmanageable to achieve by conventional techniques have become an important and successful tool in improving plant-breeding programmes.These technologies are further aimed towards leading to sustainable agriculture and offer resilience to climatic variations that are becoming more frequent. In the Indian context, since the late 1980s, the Government of India has given high priority and strong support to the development of agro-biotechnology in the country. A separate Department of Biotechnology was set up under Ministry of Science and Technology in 1985. This is backed by several ambitions including making India as one of the world leading nations in agro-biotechnology, gear this indigenous technological development to Indian needs, ensure that Indian crop yields regain the heights reached during the ‘Green Revolution’, and ensure that India remains self-sufficient in future food demands, besides making India a major global exporter of food. The global genetically engineered crops market grew from $19.72 billion in 2021 to $21.08 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9%, that is expected to grow to $26.38 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 5.8% (https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/genetically-modified-crops-global-market-report). This provides a huge opportunity for India to be a major playersin the global plant biotech sector. Some recent advances including approval for the commercialization of genetically engineered mustard is gearing for sustainability of the oil seed sector. It can be assumed that similar advanced and commercializable technologies will take India to the forefront as a major global player in the large emerging market of biotech crops.
The COVID-19 pandemic has very well demonstrated that Indian science, through the proactive engagement of its public and private sectors, besides capitalizing on its start-up ecosystem can respond to emerging challenges, where we have seen increasing self-reliance in developing vaccines, diagnostics, and related devices not only for the home market but also for the global markets.
One such innovation of a Hybrid Technology coming from the Indian public sector is the recently approved Dhara Mustard Hybrid – 11 (DMH-11), a genetically engineered mustard variety. Mustard is grown on 6-7 million hectares, primarily in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh. India imports roughly 55-60% of its edible oil requirements. Around 13.3 million tonnes of edible oil were imported in 2020-21 at a cost of Rs. 1.17 Lakh crore. This is primarily due to low productivity of about 1-1.3 tonnes/ hectare from oilseed mustard, which has remained stable for more than two decades. Plant Hybrids are typically created by crossing two genetically diverse plants from the same species to obtain a progeny that has higher yields than either of the diverse parent. Mustard being a self-pollinating crop, makes it difficult for plant breedersto make crossestobring in desirable characteristics for its sustainability and higher productivity. DMH-11 is the result of a cross between Varuna and Early Heera-2 varieties using the Hybrid Technology that not only has higher yield but is also fertile. All India coordinated trials at eight locations conducted over three years periodhave shown that DMH-11 has 28% higher yields than its parent Varuna and is 37% better than zonal checks. Interestingly, rather than being an end in itself, the development of genetically engineered hybrid variety DMH-11 indicates the success of the HybridSystem coupled with genetic engineering. The technology involves Bar, Barnase and Barstar gene system where the Barnase gene confers male sterility, while the Barstar gene restores fertility ensuring the production of fertile seeds. The third gene Bar, confers resistance to glufosinate. Thus, the benefits of the developed technology are not limited to DMH-11 but it can be consideredas a Platform Technology for the development of newer hybrids with better quality that are required to reduce India’s rising edible-oil import bill. Hence, such innovative technologies can be game changers for the Indian agriculture taking India to the forefront as a major food provider. It is important that a strong innovative ecosystem is developed and supported to ushering India in this direction. The COVID-19 pandemic has very well demonstrated that Indian science, through the proactive engagement of its public and private sectors, besides capitalizing on its start-up ecosystem can respond to emerging challenges, where we have seen increasing self-reliance in developing vaccines, diagnostics, and related devices not only for the home market but also for the global markets.
( While Vibha Dhawan is Director General at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, Kiran Kumar Sharma is Programme Director, Sustainable Agriculture atThe Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and also former Deputy Director General for Research at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics –ICRISAT. Press Information Bureau Srinagar has mailed this article to “Kashmir Horizon” for publication in this newspaper. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author but aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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