Overview
- Union Minister Jitendra Singh laid the foundation stone for the SAMARTH skill centre and formally opened the iDeaNA deep‑tech incubator at CDFD’s Uppal campus in Hyderabad.
- SAMARTH is designed to close gaps in forensic DNA profiling and molecular diagnostics through certified training that builds an industry‑ready workforce.
- The iDeaNA incubator hosts 12 startups, including five led by women, with reported early outputs that include funding raised, patents filed, jobs created and market‑ready products.
- DBT Secretary Rajesh S. Gokhale urged researchers to pursue ‘big ideas’ that combine artificial intelligence with biomanufacturing to drive next‑generation life‑science advances.
- The minister also led a ‘bench to bedside’ discussion on rare disorders as CDFD highlighted national genomics efforts such as paediatric rare‑disease programs and Genome India.