Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 22: The Kerala capital is set to mark a major milestone in India’s life sciences and innovation ecosystem with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the CSIR-NIIST Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship Hub at the Bio-360 Life Sciences Park here on January 23.

The state-of-the-art Hub will be established by the CSIR–National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the union Ministry of Science and Technology.

The facility is envisioned as a national centre for deep-tech innovation, technology translation and entrepreneurship in the life sciences sector.

The Hub will house a Centre of Excellence in Ayurveda Research (CEAR) and focus on several strategic national priority areas, including spice incubation, coir and rubber technologies, sustainable packaging, biomanufacturing and green hydrogen.

The initiative aims to strengthen scientific standardisation, quality assurance, value addition and scalable manufacturing, while fostering a vibrant ecosystem for startups and micro, small and medium enterprises.

A key emphasis of the Hub will be on scientific validation, quality control and global compliance of AYUSH products, addressing the rising international demand for evidence-based traditional medicine and wellness solutions.

In collaboration with agencies such as the Spices Board, the Hub will also promote technology-driven processing, value addition and startup incubation to enhance global competitiveness and improve farmer incomes.

Leveraging Kerala’s rich natural resource base and strong scientific talent pool, the Hub will work towards developing high-value and sustainable technologies in coir, rubber and eco-friendly packaging, in line with CSIR’s national mission on sustainable packaging.

Advanced biomanufacturing and industrial biotechnology platforms will support the production of bio-based products, biochemicals, nutraceuticals and functional foods, while green hydrogen initiatives are expected to contribute to India’s clean energy transition.