Govt. to reboot dated Opium strategy
The Hindu
It plans to rope in private sector to boost yield of alkaloids
The Central government has decided to rope in the private sector to commence production of concentrated poppy straw from India’s opium crop to boost their yield of alkaloids, used for medical purposes and exported to several countries. Among the few countries permitted to cultivate the opium poppy crop for export and extraction of alkaloids, India currently only extracts alkaloids from opium gum at facilities controlled by the Revenue Department in the Finance Ministry. This entails farmers extracting gum by manually lancing the opium pods and selling the gum to government factories. The Ministry has now decided to switch to new technologies, after trial cultivation reports submitted last year by two private firms showed higher extraction of alkaloids using the concentrated poppy straw (CPS).
‘Instead of accusing Gen-Z of lacking skills or discipline, we need to ask what drives them’ Premium
At a recent event held in the city, Cambridge University Press & Assessment launched an advisory panel comprising leaders from top global corporations, aiming to bridge the employability gap in India and better align academic output with industry needs. A whitepaper released at the event highlighted the growing importance of communication skills, the need for stronger collaboration between industry and universities, and strategies to bridge the persistent skill gap.

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