Union Minister of Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh laid the foundation stone for the North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) permanent campus at Mawdiangdiang, Shillong.
- NECTAR, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, is dedicated to leveraging technology for socio-economic development in the North East Region.
- NECTAR launched Mission Saffron in 2021, which introduced saffron cultivation in the Northeast. It has expanded saffron cultivation across Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya.
- Large-scale cultivation is now underway in Menchukha (Arunachal Pradesh) and Yuksom (Sikkim), with plans to extend to Nagaland and Manipur, making the Northeast India’s next saffron hub after Jammu and Kashmir’s Pampore.
- The initiative strategically utilizes uncultivated land, enhancing agricultural potential without disrupting existing crops.
