Biotech park, science museum planned for Lucknow: Jitendra Singh

Lucknow, Sep 15 (PTI) Lucknow holds immense potential to emerge as a major start-up hub on the lines of Hyderabad and other southern cities, Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said on Monday.

Addressing a CSIR Startup Conclave here, Singh recalled that it was from Lucknow that mint tablets reached global markets and that India's first solar cell was made in Uttar Pradesh in 1977, according to an official statement.

On the occasion, the minister announced that a new biotechnology park and a science museum will soon be established in Lucknow to further boost research and innovation, the statement said.

He also pointed out that the country's oldest botanical garden, located in Lucknow, along with the recently developed Swastik Lotus Garden, which houses lotus species from around the world, can be transformed into a major tourist attraction in the future.

Singh also praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his consistent support to the scientific community.

"Scientists in Uttar Pradesh always receive the chief minister's guidance and blessings," the statement quoted the minister as saying.

He also credited the chief minister for reviving Central Electronics Limited in Sahibabad, which shifted from loss to profit within two years, it added. PTI KIS RUK RUK