Seminar on ‘Opportunities for value addition of industrially usable raw materials of plant origin’

A seminar on ‘Opportunities for value addition of industrially usable raw materials of plant origin’ was organized in online mode by Chemistry & Bioprospecting (C&BP) Division, Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun on 24^th May, 2023. A total of 43 participants including scientists, officers and staff of technical service, research scholars, and project staff of the FRI and other institutes of the ICFRE joined the programme.  Dr. Renuka Thergaonkar, Director, R&D Global Consultants Pvt. Ltd.,Thane, Mumbai was the speaker.  Dr. V.K. Varshney, Head, C&BP Division welcomed the speaker and the participants. Dr. Thergaonkar spoke on different dimensions of value addition of naturally occurring industrially usable raw materials of plant origin including essential oils, fats and oils, dyes, pigments, gums and starches. Elaborating the functionality of such raw materials to meet the requirements of food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and aroma industries, and citing several examples including success stories of her laboratory, she explained in detail the need and scope of value addition of these materials. She also emphasized to undertake the value addition of plant derived raw materials for sustainability. The lecture was followed by the interaction with the participants for their queries.  The seminar was aimed to advance the technical capabilities of the participants and utilize the acquired knowledge and understanding in their research projects. At the end, Dr. V.K. Varshney thanked the speaker.