The state government is planning to release the revised ‘millennium biotech policy’ within a month. The first version of the policy was drafted in 2001. The revised policy aims “to give a number of incentives to the biotechnology industry,” said Katta Subramanya Naidu, minister for IT and BT. He was speaking at the inaugural of Bangalore Bio 2009 which kicked off here on Thursday.
The new policy under revision is guided by the Vision Group on Biotechnology, chaired by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon India Ltd. It will focus on capacity building, deregulating certain provisions coming in the way of the growth of the sector, providing the much-needed fiscal incentives and concessions and building up the necessary infrastructure for the sector.
Bangalore is home for biotech activity with 187 core biotechnology companies, with a major thrust on R&D, clinical trials and contract manufacturing. Similarly, other biotech fields including bio-agriculture and bio-industrial have tremendous growth opportunities.
The state is trying to speed up development of the industry by taking it to tier II and III cities. On these lines, the government is planning an Agri-Biotech Park at Dharwad at an estimated investment of Rs 30 crore, a Marine Biotech Park at Mangalore for Rs 70 crore, an Animal House at Bidar with Rs 30 crore, and phyto-pharmaceutical park at Mysore for Rs 110 crore, he said.
Another initiative of the government is to develop a biotech cluster in Bangalore, which is phase-II of the expansion of the biotech park in Electronic city on Hosur road. The project, to be built on a public-private partnership model, will involve Rs 300 crore investment. The state will contribute 60 acres worth Rs 100 crore and the remaining investment is expected to come from private players.
“We are claiming a 33 per cent stake in the project. Based on the response from private partners, we will work out the modalities. The project will commence in three months and will take about two years to complete,” Naidu added.
The state government commissioned a Rs 16 crore R&D and institutional block comprising of IBAB (Institute of Bioinformatics & Applied Biotechnology) and CHG (Centre for Human Genetics) at the biotech park in February, 2009. The government of India, recognising IBAB as a centre of excellence, has given approval for setting up the Rs 34 crore Bio-IT centre there.
The biotech policy of Karnataka formulated in 2001 aimed to spur the growth of the biotechnology industry in the state and also encourage R&D in the field. The state had also set up the vision group then to advise the government on future strategies.
The biotech sector in India, growing at the rate of 35-40 per cent per annum for the last four years, is today facing a lower growth rate of about 18 per cent, primarily due to global recession. At this juncture, the industry will have to further innovate to have global competitive edge. The industry regulations will have to undergo a sea-change, especially in terms of labour laws, environmental clearances and zonal regulations, said chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.
The state government has allotted 1,500 acres for the Indian Institute of Science to set up its second campus at Chitradurga. A centre of excellence in biotechnology is expected to be set up on this campus, he added.
Delivering the inaugural address, Prithviraj Chavan, Union minister of state for science and technology said that the Union government will extend all possible support for creating the biotechnology cluster in Bangalore. Similarly, projects have also been taken up at Mohali and Faridabad.
“The Government of India is working to make National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority a reality, which will help the industry record overall growth across all verticals. Indian biotech sector will be $25 billion by 2020. Due to indigenous R&D, today every third child is vaccinated with Indian vaccines and a breakthrough in developing swine flu vaccine is not far away,” added Chavan.
In the last fiscal biotech industry reached Rs 12,137 crore size with the annual growth rate of 18 per cent. Though Mumbai cluster achieved the highest growth rate among all clusters in India, Bangalore still tops the list in size at Rs 2,500 crore, said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.
“India’s promise is to focus on synergies and progress by partnering in knowledge. India can play a key role in addressing the global challenges of food and health insecurities. The soon to be released revised Biotech Policy of Karnataka will attract more investments into R&D. With this, Industry and government will achieve the goal of taking the fruits of innovation to those who need it most,” she noted.
