Jitendra Singh unveils new lotus variety ‘Namoh 108’; says ‘a gift to PM Modi’ | Latest News India
Union minister for science and technology Jitendra Singh unveiled a new type of lotus flower called “Namoh 108” in Lucknow on Saturday. This unique lotus has 108 petals and was developed by Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), a plant-based research center in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow.
Jitendra Singh took to X (formerly Twitter) to share pictures from the flower launch event and wrote, “Lotus is the national flower of India and a symbol of faith for us. Proud to launch new variety Lotus flower ‘Namoh 108’, first of its kind whose genome is completely sequenced for its characteristics. Developed by National Botanical Research Institute Lucknow”
During the event, the Union minister also introduced clothing made from lotus fiber and a perfume named ‘Frotus’, which is extracted from lotus flowers. The perfume and clothing were developed by NBRI as part of the Lotus Research Program, in collaboration with FFDC, Kannauj, a release from the minsitry said.
Jitendra Singh praised NBRI for naming this unique lotus variety as “Namoh 108”. He said, “It is a grand gift to the relentless zeal and innate beauty of Narendra Modi, coming as it does in the tenth year of his tenure as the Prime Minister.”
“Under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership, the Ministry of Science & Technology has successfully initiated various floral projects like #AromaMission, Tulip Project, Namoh #Lotus 108, greatly boosting the agricultural economy,” he added.
The CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute officially introduced the flower earlier on Monday. Director General N Kalaiselvi of CSIR-NBRI said, “It’s a joyful coincidence that ‘Namoh 108’ is presented to the nation a day before Independence Day.” Talking about the number in the name, Kalaiselvi said this lotus variety has been given important identity considering the religious importance of the flower and the number ‘108’.
