Secretary (DARE) & DG (ICAR) visits ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai on 22.02.2026

Dr. M.L. Jat, Secretary (DARE) & DG (ICAR) visited ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai on 22.02.2026. During his visit he inaugurated the Start-Up Exhibition, in which about 25 Start-Ups funded under the RKVY-RAFTAAR Agri-business Incubation, have displayed their products. An interaction meeting of the Secretary (DARE) & DG (ICAR) was arranged with all the staff members of the Institute and the Start-Ups in the Jubilee Hall. 

In his address, DG gave the direction to the staff members to evolve over time to bring the best in them to address the concerns of the farmers and other stakeholders. DG also insisted that the Scientific fraternity should always be in the state of preparedness and have more focus on strengthening their fundamentals. He also reiterated that the Institute should align with the developments at the Headquarters and work in similar line with the policies of Government of India.

Earlier Dr. S.K. Shukla made a brief presentation of the research achievements and new initiatives of the institute. DG visited various laboratories including, fibre testing, mechanical processing, nanocellulose pilot plant, biomass characterization and genomics. During the visits, he assessed the status of nanofertilizer testing facility of the Institute and instructed the scientists to understand the science behind the action of nanofertilizers in plants. He appreciated the work carried out by ICAR-CIRCOT for increasing the production of xylitol using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. 

On this Occasion, three publications, “ICAR-CIRCOT: A Glimpse”, “Udaan” and “Amber 2025” were released at the hands of DG, ICAR. An MoU for Licensing the technology “Nano-zinc oxide finished cotton textiles” was signed with M/s. VSK Textiles, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu in the presence of DG, ICAR.

Dr. N.P. Sahu, Director, ICAR-CIFE, Mumbai and Dr. N.G. Patil, Director, ICAR-NBSS&LUP, Nagpur were also present on the occasion.