Every day we are listening on TV channels, read in print media, social media that India is progressing & soon it will become the third largest economy of the Globe. The progress is in the field of infrastructure, service industry, productivity & the agriculture etc. At the same time we are facing different problems like uncontrolled pollution, climate change causing hurdles in the progress of agriculture, health issues like resurgence of infections, hike in other diseases such as heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, energy/fuel crisis etc. So we are developing on one hand & on other hand the problems are arising out of progress & development. Thus this development is not a sustainable development. Different sectors such as IT, heavy industry, e-commerce & to some extent biotechnology contribute to this development.
The sustainable development in different sectors like agriculture, health/ pharma, chemical industry, fuel/energy can be achieved by biotechnological interventions which will help in reducing the problems particularly of environment by reducing the carbon emission & making efforts towards becoming the “zero carbon” state. In India the biotech industry is growing, it has developed new economic dimension called Bioeconomy& it is contributing to the Nation’s economy by sharing some part of the GDP. India’s bioeconomy has contributed $ 11.4 billion to GDP in 2023. The bioeconomy sector encompasses economic activities derived from bio-resources, played a pivotal role in India’s economy, contributing 4% to the GDP.
If we look at the state wise contribution to GDP through bioeconomy, there are six major states with Maharashtra on top with share of 27% , Karnataka 20% , Telangana 12%, Gujarat 8% , Uttar Pradesh 8%, Delhi 7%, Andhra Pradesh 6% & remaining all other states 12%.
Bioeconomy is dependent on biotechnology ,the technology of tomorrow can leverage our wealth of bioresources, unique biodiversity in Himalayas, Western ghats, Nilgiris etc. & a vast 7,500 Km long coast line. For this a separate department at Govt.level is required. Such department at Central Govt. is the Dept. of Biotechnology which is taking initiatives like Samudrayyan exploring biodiversity beneath the sea, highlight our commitment to harness bio resources. DBT supports R&D/ innovation & bio manufacturing in biofuels & ‘Waste to Energy’ technologies, fore seeing a green sustainable development.
The biodiversity/bio resources are available across the country whose utilization in biotechnological application for bio economy is important. But as described previously only six states are contributing to bio economy &in that Maharashtra is highest. This is because there are no separate departments handling biotechnological issues at State level except Karnataka & Gujarat. Even in Maharashtra there is no such department though it is on topof the list for contribution in bio economy.
There is no separate allocation in State Govt. budgets except Karnataka & Gujarat. If a State wants to develop biotechnology innovation center & generate the biotech based advantages, then a separate department in the Ministry of a State should be established so that a budgetary allocation for the same can be done & this allocation should be used only & only for biotech development purpose. The Microbiologists Society, India made this appeal to all State Governments through a letter addressed to Hon’ble Governors.
Now a days there is an urgent requirement to boost the Bio manufacturing projects.
Establishment of biotechnology department at the state level can be advantageous in following ways-
- Dedicated fund allocation for long term.
- Capacity or delegation of power for negotiations with foreign investors for exclusive FDI in biotechnology sector.
- Negotiations with other Ministries & departments for different regulatory aspects.
- Analysis of future requirement for developing a perspective plan to promote bio innovation as per future needs.
- Streamlining of Government machinery to increase productivity. There must be time to time result oriented alteration, change in the biotechnological policy. At state level the twenty years old policy is in existence, no change has been introduced till date.
For innovations in biotechnology & as in whole bio sciences the time is required &conversion of that innovation into an enterprise takes further more years. For such a process there is a need of an assured financial planning. To have this there is an urgent need that in every state must have a separate biotechnology department. Because of this, long term projects can be started with robust financial & administrative backing which will help to follow the time limits within which results can be produced.
The separate department will facilitate the development of necessary infrastructure for biotechnological initiatives. The infrastructure needed in this sector is different from other sectors. Thus persons must be appointed who are well versed with subject. So that proper projects can be undertaken.
When some biotechnological products are to be developed & scaled up,for example in the development of bio pharma products, technologies for pollution control etc. The researcher/innovator has to liaise with different departments. In bio pharma product development researcher/innovator has to liaise with Health ministry. For gene editing in plants or in development of recombinant DNA technology products for agriculture the liaison is required with Environment & forest department. Same is the case for the use of GMOs for treating toxic industrial waste. Permissions must be taken from concerned Ministries.
At such point the special department can satisfy the queries from different departments & it can act as a nodal agency for sanctioning the permissions for safe & comprehensive application of new biotechnological applications for the problems. Thus the loss of time due to administrative delays can be curtailed. The single window clearance system for biotech industry can be developed. This will also help the innovators, investors& gain their confidence. Due to this there will be an increase in the biotechnological establishments in private and
Govt. sector too. At present meager development is seen though the states have resources.Very important thing is that bio economy is developing via different sectors like bio pharma ,bio agri, bio industry, BioIT. To run these sectors there is a need of trained, skilled human resources. This can be developed through education system. Today’s education system is producing degree holders such as B.Sc, M.Sc, B.Tech who are not that much skillful as it is needed to run an industry.
The human resource as on today developed by the Universities is far away from what is required by biotech industry. Thus today’s degree holders are not getting jobs in the relevant fields. There must be the development of institutes like polytechnics, higher education institutes (HEI) specially devoted for biotechnology which will develop technicians, QC /QA personnel, research & development , technical marketing personnel, & special administrative skills are required for such special sectors.
The institutes giving training in all these areas should be developed by specially developed biotechnology department of state as per need. This will cater the need of human resources in Molecular Biology, Tissue culture, Bioprocess technology, Biocommerce etc.There is a capacity in biotechnology t becme a major contributing factor in every State’s economy & ultimately in Nation’s economy. For this there is a need of skillful strategy & planning which will give sustainable development in energy sector,industry & also give nutrition & health security. This will lead to develop AtmaNirbhar Bharat.
Author: Dr. Sanjeev D. Patankar, Microbiologists Society, India