Doda (Jammu and Kashmir [India], June 6 : Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh inaugurated the two-day 4th Lavender Festival at Government Degree College Bhaderwah under the theme "Lavender Goes Global".
Organised by CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, the festival celebrates the success of the Lavender Mission and the Purple Revolution in the Chenab Valley.
Addressing farmers, students, and entrepreneurs, Singh highlighted Bhaderwah's growing identity as India's lavender hub and emphasised value addition, startups, lavender tourism, and global market opportunities. He said the success of local farmers and youth reflects the immense potential of lavender cultivation.
The event featured exhibitions, startup showcases, buyer-seller interactions, and an MoU to strengthen the lavender value chain. Progressive farmers, entrepreneurs, media persons, and other stakeholders were also felicitated for their contributions to promoting lavender cultivation in the region.
Earlier on Friday, Singh inaugurated the new Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) at Jammu and announced that a similar centre would soon be established in Lucknow, expanding India's regional weather forecasting network.
According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the Jammu facility has become the country's seventh Regional Meteorological Centre and will serve Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh by providing specialised weather services, disaster warnings and climate support tailored to the Himalayan region.
The Minister said the new centre would strengthen weather monitoring, forecasting and early-warning systems in a region characterised by diverse terrain ranging from plains to high-altitude mountains. It will provide district-level forecasts, mountain weather forecasts, tourist advisories, city-specific weather services and warnings for flash floods, cloudbursts, avalanches, heavy snowfall, thunderstorms and landslides.
The services are expected to benefit pilgrims undertaking the Amarnath and Vaishno Devi yatras, farmers, transport operators, hydropower projects, disaster management agencies and security forces operating in difficult terrain.