Hyderabad, May 5 (UNI) Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday inaugurated the Biochar Centre of Excellence for promoting Rural Entrepreneurship at Kanha Shanti Vanam – the headquarters of Heartfulness Institute, on the outskirts of the city.
The Centre promoting Rural Entrepreneurship, an initiative by Heartfulness Institute and PayPal was inaugurated by the Union Minister in the presence of Kamesh Patel (Daaji) — President Founder & Guide of Heartfulness Institute along with Nath Parameshwaran, Senior Director, PayPal .
Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said that the Centre, has been established to provide skill development, and capacity building for rural entrepreneurs in villages for biochar.
The initiative aims to encourage women and youth entrepreneurs to set up biochar units, produce biochar, and distribute it to farmers as part of a rural business model, he said.
The Centre will also offer an end-to-end experience of how biochar is produced, processed, and applied to the soil, enabling participants to visually study and understand its impact on crops, soil, and forests.
“Small businesses, rural entrepreneurs and farmers form the backbone of India’s economy. This unique initiative brings entrepreneurs and farmers together to equip them with modern agricultural technologies and know-how on farming. We want our farmer community to have superior yield, better income, make agriculture dependable and provide economic opportunities for small rural entrepreneurs in the villages.
With the Biochar Centre of Excellence and promoting Rural Entrepreneurship at Heartfulness, we are sure to make India more self-reliant in agriculture, Gadkari said.
This is a wonderful initiative, and we hope that rural entrepreneurs and farmers will benefit from this initiative, the Union Minister added .
Kamlesh Patel (Daaji) said “ A Centre of Excellence like this will train rural entrepreneurs, farmers, and agriculturists in sustainable farming, helping them adopt biochar as an effective carbon-sequestering agent for better plant survival rates and afforestation.
Our vision is to establish a biochar unit in every village in the country for the benefit of all."
Parameshwaran said, “Helping small businesses and entrepreneurs thrive is a key priority for PayPal globally and in India. We are delighted to partner with Heartfulness Institute in this unique initiative, which aligns with the Skill India vision of Prime Minister Modi.The Centre of Excellence for Rural Entrepreneurship aims to provide economic and upskilling opportunities for rural entrepreneurs, boost farmer incomes, and protect the environment with use of bio-char.”
The benefits of biochar, which is 100 percent organic, include permanently improving soil fertility, increasing crop yields by 10-30 percent boosting farmers' incomes, reducing water requirements for crops, and enhancing the survival rate of saplings in afforestation.
Biochar has been extensively used to rejuvenate barren lands at Kanha Shanti Vanam and in afforestation projects, transforming these spaces into green landscapes and dense forests.
Additionally, biochar production and its sequestration in soil generate high-value carbon credits, which are used to subsidize biochar for farmers.
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