New Delhi: A new variety of lotus,‘NBRI Namoh 108′, was launched Saturday by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology and minister of state in Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Jitendra Singh.
The variety has 108 petals and has been developed by Lucknow’s CSIR – National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), a premier multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art research & development centre based in Lucknow.
Launching the flower at the institute, Singh said, “Considering the religious importance of the lotus as also 108, this combination gives an important identity to this variety.” Both the number 108 and lotus flower are considered auspicious in Hindu religion. Lotus also happens to be the BJP’s election symbol, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is often referred to as ‘NaMo’, a derivation of his initials.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the ‘Namoh 108’ lotus variety blooms between March and December, and is rich in nutrients. This is the first lotus variety whose genome is completely sequenced for its characteristics, the statement added.
Lauding the NBRI for naming the lotus variety as ‘Namoh 108’, Singh said that coming in the tenth year of his tenure as the PM, it is a grand gift to the “relentless zeal and innate beauty of Shri Narendra Modi”.
Singh also released apparel made from lotus fibre and perfume ‘Frotus’, extracted from lotus flowers and developed by the NBRI in collaboration with the Fragrance & Flavour Development Centre (FFCD), a central government unit in Kannauj.
The minister also released a new variety of Aloe vera named ‘NBRI-Nihar’, a clonal selection having approximately 2.5 times high gel yield in comparison to regular Aloe vera.
According to the ministry, ‘NBRI-Nihar’ is found to be the least affected by bacterial and fungal diseases.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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