Govt plans 50 centres under biotech development programme

The department of science and technology (DST), government of India, has proposed setting up of 50 centres of excellence by identifying thematic areas in the area of science and research development in the country, as part of its biotechnology development strategy.

"The draft policy is ready to go before the Cabinet for approval," department of biotechnology senior advisor Dr S Natesh said in Mysore on Friday.

The DST has also floated a scheme, small business innovative research initiative (SBIRI) to support and encourage small and medium industries for building institute-industry links.

Under the scheme, SMEs can apply for support to convert a process into product, grants etc. The 230 applications already received have been short-listed.

Dr Natesh was speaking to Business Standard after inaugurating a two-day national symposium on sensors and instrumentation for food processing, organised jointly by the Biosensor Society (India) and the Central Food Technological Research Institute.

Underscoring the growing importance of biosensor in fields like food safety, health care and environmental aspects, he said, ?the current market for health care devices alone is about Rs 7,000 crore with a growth rate of 15 per cent. But 85 per cent of it is met by imports. This reveals the high potential available for industry, to turn research into useful devices, the demand for which is fast expanding all over the world.?

Realising limitations like high cost, non-availability of technology, and marketing, the government of India had proposed a network of efforts where it will interact and promote the bio-science sector by bringing the researchers together and identifying innovation-industry links to convert knowledge into value-added products.

Making a beginning already, the DST has promoted a stem-cell cluster in Pune. Such thematic centres of excellence offering 5-10 year-long facility solely dedicated to innovations, promotion of indigenous areas of science and training, would be located in the existing institutes, Dr Natesh said.

In order to encourage the industry to convert this research outcome into product, the SBIRIs are proposed, he explained.

In his presidential address, CFTRI director V Prakash said, "the annual growth rate of biosensors is nearly 60 per cent. The estimated world market potential is about 15,000 million pounds a year, out of which 30 per cent goes to health care alone. India has only a small portion of it."

"To link biosensors for food quality and safety and food processing is very important as food processing industry investments is already Rs 2 lakh crore in the country," he said requesting the DST to set up its Food Technology Bio-Innovation Centre in Mysore which has a host of R&D labs and institutions.

Biosensor Society of India President D B Malhotra said biosensors and bio-molecules had immense scope in the country and a number of companies were interested in investing in this fast expanding area of innovation and business.

CFTRI deputy director N G Karanath suggested to the industry to take advantage of the new opportunities by strengthening research and forging possible collaborations.