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Genome institute to help innovators with start-up funds
Thursday, 07 December 2006, 18:30 IST
New Delhi: India's premier Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) is planning to launch a scheme to attract and help innovators in biotech and biogenomics start their own enterprise.
"We are hoping that some highly qualified and talented Indians in places like Berkley keen on coming back to India but averse to taking up a job will be interested in coming to us," IGIB director Samir K. Brahmachari told IANS.
The proposed bio-incubator fund will provide around 
50,000 per month and research support to eight highly qualified scientists and engineers annually "to turn their ideas into reality. Within one year the idea has to get into a prototype that can be commercially exploited".
The research support for one year is proposed to be around 2 million along with all the equipment required.
With India looking to giving an added push to innovation, IGIB feels that such funding will encourage young scientists to pursue higher education and research activities with the aim of becoming entrepreneurs and serving both social and economic goals.
IGIB is a laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which has around 40 research facilities under its wings working in diverse areas.
The plan to provide start up funding support to turn innovative ideas into commercially marketable processes or products is awaiting completion of a 20,000 square feet research facility in the capital, said Brahmachari.
At this stage it is expected that some venture capital funding or Department of Science and Technology's technology development funding may be forthcoming.
With a goal-oriented approach, IGIB hopes to whittle down chances of wastage of resources while giving deserving candidate the much needed support at the start of a venture when very few are fortunate enough to attract attention of venture capitalists.
"While venture capitalists globally give three in 10 as the success ratio for such a scheme to work, we are banking on a higher success ratio of three in eight," said Brahmachari.
Once the enterprise is up and going, IGIB may take a small equity stake in it.
Considering that companies like GE are recording high rates of success with commercialisation of innovations in the large facility in Bangalore, IGIB is hopeful that its new proposed venture will yield rich dividends.
Source: IANS
50,000 per month and research support to eight highly qualified scientists and engineers annually "to turn their ideas into reality. Within one year the idea has to get into a prototype that can be commercially exploited".
The research support for one year is proposed to be around 2 million along with all the equipment required.
With India looking to giving an added push to innovation, IGIB feels that such funding will encourage young scientists to pursue higher education and research activities with the aim of becoming entrepreneurs and serving both social and economic goals.
IGIB is a laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which has around 40 research facilities under its wings working in diverse areas.
The plan to provide start up funding support to turn innovative ideas into commercially marketable processes or products is awaiting completion of a 20,000 square feet research facility in the capital, said Brahmachari.
At this stage it is expected that some venture capital funding or Department of Science and Technology's technology development funding may be forthcoming.
With a goal-oriented approach, IGIB hopes to whittle down chances of wastage of resources while giving deserving candidate the much needed support at the start of a venture when very few are fortunate enough to attract attention of venture capitalists.
"While venture capitalists globally give three in 10 as the success ratio for such a scheme to work, we are banking on a higher success ratio of three in eight," said Brahmachari.
Once the enterprise is up and going, IGIB may take a small equity stake in it.
Considering that companies like GE are recording high rates of success with commercialisation of innovations in the large facility in Bangalore, IGIB is hopeful that its new proposed venture will yield rich dividends.
Source: IANS