COIMBATORE: An incubation centre will be established at the Forest College and Research Institute (FC&RI) in Mettupalayam to promote entrepreneurship among college students and unemployed youth in textile and non-textile applications of silk under the Next Generation Silk Innovation Network (NGSIN) programme of the Central Silk Board (CSB).A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed between CSB and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) on Saturday. The MoU will strengthen collaboration between CSB and TNAU in sericulture research, training, skill development and technology transfer, with the (FC&RI) positioned to play a key role.CSB has identified FC&RI as one of four main institutes in the country for establishing an incubation centre. The other three institutions are the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru; Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat; and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu. Each centre will receive ₹20 lakh, primarily for procuring equipment. In addition, student proposals selected under the initiative will receive financial support of ₹1 lakh to ₹1.5 lakh. For the first year, ₹5 lakh has been allocated to support innovative ideas.Officials said the MoU — signed during a visit by P Sivakumar, IFS, member-secretary, CSB, to TNAU and FC&RI — would support joint work in sericulture research, mulberry germplasm evaluation, technology development, capacity building and skill-oriented programmes aligned to the incubation mandate.The MoU was signed in the presence of Dr M Raveendran, acting vice-chancellor, TNAU, Dr A Balasubramanian, dean, FC&RI, and Dr K A Murugesh, professor and head, department of sericulture, FC&RI.Sivakumar took part in planting promising mulberry fruit-yielding accessions at the Mulberry Garden, TNAU. He lauded the university’s efforts in conserving and evaluating mulberry genetic resources and underlined the need to translate research into practical, farmer-oriented technologies for sustainable sericulture development.He later visited Sirumugai and inspected training facilities and the silk weaving cluster under the SAMARTH scheme. Reviewing arrangements for beneficiaries, he stressed hands-on training, technical upskilling and employment-focused capacity building to strengthen the competencies of silk artisans.Sivakumar highlighted the importance of need-based research, innovation, entrepreneurship, skill development and effective technology dissemination, and urged faculty and students to take up applied research that addresses emerging requirements of the sericulture sector.
