Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 3 : Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has emerged as the thought leader shaping the global biodiversity endeavour, said Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh. He was speaking at the valedictory session of the Animal Taxonomy Summit-2025, organised by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) on Wednesday.
The summit, held in Kolkata, laid emphasis on strengthening scientific research and conservation efforts in the field of animal taxonomy.
In his address, Kirti Vardhan Singh lauded the Zoological Survey of India for its extraordinary contribution to the Nation's scientific landscape, stating that the organisation has, over the years, documented and built an archive of over 1,00,000 to 1,05,000 species that inhabit India--an achievement he described as a feat worthy of commendation.
Speaking on the occasion, he also recalled the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech, where the PM has urged every Indian to embrace 'Panch Pran', the five key resolutions for a developed India.
Reflecting on the Indian tradition's reverence for knowledge, the Minister invoked the example of Sage Dattatreya, who had 24 gurus, many of whom were animals, to underscore the sacredness of learning from the natural world.
He hailed the scientists of ZSI as modern sages who are decoding life one species at a time, with quiet dedication and deep insight. He further remarked that true intellectual freedom lies in liberating the mind from blindly imitating what is contemporary or borrowed from the West.
Instead, he called for a renewed embrace of India's indigenous knowledge systems, advocating for a meaningful synthesis between traditional wisdom and cutting-edge science. He said, this would allow science to break new ground with a mindset rooted in the soil of India--an Indian mindset that is both original and forward-looking.
This was the third consecutive edition of the Animal Taxonomy Summit organised by ZSI. Over the course of three days, the summit brought together more than 500 delegates from five countries, including Ghana, Denmark, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom.
Participants engaged in wide-ranging deliberations across three major themes: Taxonomy, Systematics, and Faunal Diversity and Conservation. The event featured 22 lead lectures by eminent experts from India and abroad, along with 170 poster presentations from early-career researchers. The recommendations emerging from these discussions will be submitted to the Government of India to inform future strategies in biodiversity documentation and conservation.
During the valedictory session, the Union Minister released several significant publications brought out by the Zoological Survey of India. These included recent faunal compendia of diverse and ecologically significant regions such as the Terai ecosystem, Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand, Tampara Lake, and the mudflats along the east coast of India. The Minister also unveiled catalogues on Indian jumping spiders and tarantulas, along with a detailed reference work on Collembola type specimens housed in the National Zoological Collection. These publications reflect ZSI's ongoing commitment to expanding and disseminating knowledge on India's rich faunal diversity.
In recognition of academic excellence, Kirti Vardhan Singh presented gold, silver, and bronze medals to research scholars for the best poster presentations made during the summit.
This year also marks the 110th Foundation Day of the Zoological Survey of India. To commemorate this milestone, ZSI had launched a 110-Hour Hackathon on Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change, held simultaneously across its 16 Regional Centres. The Hackathon engaged students, researchers, and innovators in developing practical and collaborative solutions to pressing ecological challenges. The final round of the Hackathon was held on June 30, 2025, and was graced by the presence of Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, who also formally inaugurated the Animal Taxonomy Summit-2025 on the same occasion.