ICCBS Emerges as National Hub for Agro-Product Testing with Rs. 900m NRL-DPP<\/p>\n
KARACHI: An investment of around Rs. 900 million by the Federal Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R) for the establishment of the National Reference Laboratory of the Department of Plant Protection (NRL-DPP) at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, reflects the institution\u2019s standing as one of the region\u2019s leading research establishments.<\/p>\n
Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, Professor Emeritus and former Federal Minister for Science and Technology, expressed these views on Tuesday while addressing an \u201cAwareness Seminar on the Newly Established NRL-DPP at the H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry for Quality Testing of Export and Import Commodities.\u201d The seminar was jointly organized by the NRL-DPP and the H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, ICCBS.<\/p>\n
Other speakers at the seminar included Yasin Murtaza, Advisor and Director General, Department of Plant Protection, Ministry of National Food Security and Research; Prof. Dr. Muhammad Raza Shah, Director ICCBS; Prof. Dr. Syed Ghulam Musharraf, In-charge NRL-DPP; Prof. Dr. Shahid Mansoor; and Muhammad Hassan Chachar, Deputy Director (P&D), DPP.<\/p>\n
Welcoming members of the business community, Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman highlighted how ICCBS, under his patronage, has emerged as Pakistan\u2019s leading research center. He said that he had established the Jamil-ur-Rahman Centre for Genomics Research in his father\u2019s name, equipped with state-of-the-art gene-editing facilities. He added that the center is providing forensic services to the Sindh government, increasing the criminal conviction rate in the province from about 4 percent to over 15 percent.<\/p>\n
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Raza Shah told the seminar that the NRL-DPP, recently established at ICCBS, is a cutting-edge facility accredited by the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) and funded by the federal government. He said the laboratory now serves as Pakistan\u2019s regulatory reference laboratory for agro-product testing.<\/p>\n
He added that ICCBS stands on par with leading research institutions in the developed world and noted that the center has received 34 civil awards, including one Nishan-e-Imtiaz, five Hilal-e-Imtiaz, 14 Sitara-e-Imtiaz, 14 Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, and Pride of Performance awards. He further stated that ICCBS has been designated a Centre of Excellence by several international organizations, including WHO and UNESCO.<\/p>\n
Delivering an online address, Yasin Murtaza said the federal government selected ICCBS for establishing the NRL-DPP due to the outstanding team of scientists working under Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman. He described the collaboration as a unique initiative reflecting the international standing of ICCBS and thanked the administration and research team for their tireless efforts in developing the laboratory.<\/p>\n
Prof. Syed Ghulam Musharraf gave a detailed presentation on the establishment of the NRL-DPP, while Prof. Shahid Mansoor spoke about innovative techniques to grow multiple generations of cotton in a single year. Muhammad Hassan Chachar presented the vote of thanks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"