The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana has signed an MoU with Japan’s Nippon Steel and Sumikin Bussan (NSSB) Corporation for developing coloured cotton through biotechnological means. The pact was signed by PAU vice chancellor Baldev Singh Dhillon and NSSB’s senior managing executive officer Eiichi Nakamura.
NSSB is a global leader in steel with an annual turnover of $18 billion and has interests in textiles and food items as well. Its textile division is engaged in all the steps starting from material development, product planning, production and distribution.
Dr Sakae Suzuki of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology has cloned the genes responsible for pigment (colour) production in flowers. Using the same analogy, the PAU would be working on developing coloured cotton, according to a report in a top English-language daily from Punjab.