Indian dairy collaboration

The Riddet Institute has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), India’s premier dairy research institute. The Riddet Institute is one of seven New Zealand Centres of Research Excellence, hosted by Massey University.

The Riddet Institute has been engaged with NDRI on a number of collaborative projects over several years. Recently, a collaborative project jointly funded by MBIE and DST (Department of Science & Technology, Government of India), has been established. This project focuses on developing probiotics of Indian origin and suitable delivery formats for Asian countries. The Riddet Institute also obtained additional funding from the NZ-India Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington.

Professor AK Srivastava, Director and Vice Chancellor of NDRI, said that NDRI has been involved with the Riddet Institute since 2009, when he met Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh, co-director of the Riddet Institute, on a New Zealand government sponsored fact-finding science mission to India. He said: “We wish to formalise and standardise our relationship in order to provide consistency, and a focal point, for the preparation and administration of programmes for collaboration and co-operation.”

Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh said: “This MoU will assist Riddet Institute researchers to acquire a new set of knowledge about food products for the emerging Indian and Asian markets. It will also create a pathway for increasing joint publications, third party funding applications, recruitment of post-graduate students and collaborative visits by Indian researchers and businesses. Through our Riddet Foodlink network we will be able to involve the New Zealand food industry in these visits.”

Professor AK Srivastava was a keynote speaker at the Riddet Institute Annual Food Summit held last week in Wellington.

NDRI undertakes research, teaching and extension activities towards dairy development and provides high quality manpower to meet the human resource requirements for the overall dairy development in India.