Karnataka aims at being bio-economic power house of world: CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today said the state aims to be the bio-economic powerhouse of the world and announced that the Bio-Innovation Centre in the city will soon be operational.
"Karnataka is perhaps the only state which is taking innovative initiatives in supporting the development of Biotechnology. Bengaluru is fortunate enough to have the highest density of Biotech companies in the country," he said.
Speaking after inaugurating the 15th edition of the "Bangalore India Bio 2015" here, he said the state is home to about 52 per cent of the core Biotech companies in the country. Out of the top 10 Biotech Companies in India, five are located in Bengaluru.

About 26 per cent of the Biotech revenues of the country, particularly in terms of exports, are generated by the Biotech Industry in Karnataka, he added.
Siddaramaiah said the State promoted Bengaluru Bio-Innovation Centre will soon be operational, giving plenty of opportunities for innovative ideas to be commercialised and leading to blossoming of several start-ups in the fields of life sciences and pharmaceuticals.
He said the Centre would be incubation-cum-accelerator "because it is not just about taking an idea to proof of concept stage, but also, about how you convert an idea to a marketable product."
"This facility along with the Bio-venture fund being setup by the State Government will give a big boost to the Biotech sector," he added.

Synthetic Biology is an emerging field that combines the knowledge of biology and engineering, he said, adding "By using engineering principles, synthetic biology aims at designing or redesigning and construct new or existing biological parts, devices and systems for useful purposes.