India to unveil new biotech policy

Monday, 12 July 2004, 19:30 IST
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BANGALORE: India will unveil a new national biotechnology policy within six months to boost the sunrise sector. The ministry of science and technology's department of biotechnology will set up a committee by month-end to frame the new policy, Biotechnology Secretary M.K. Bhan said here Sunday. He was addressing an international conference on 'Biotechnology for a billion people', being held as part of the three-day Bangalore Bio 2004 event. Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural session of the conference, Bhan told about 300 delegates from India and abroad the new policy would provide the framework for the functioning of research and business institutions. It will also spell out trade and investment guidelines for the emerging sector. "A group of experts will also be set up to suggest models for public-private partnerships in the biotech sector. The biotechnology department will invest in the creation of innovation centres within the existing academic and research institutions," Bhan said. Delhi University will be the first centre to receive the funding. Five such centres will be established across the country in as many years. Outlining the department's strategy for the biotech sector's growth, Bhan said the government would allocate its resources in a targeted manner, selecting the areas that had built up competence levels. Besides Bangalore, the department will focus on other cities such as Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Lucknow for uniform development of the biotech sector. "We will invest in those states and cities where the ingredients of the biotechnology enterprise are present," Bhan stated. Inaugurating the conference, Thailand's Science and Technology Minister Korn Thapparansi said Indian scientific and business institutions should explore collaborations with his country in the biotech sector. "They can identify organic and herbal products besides the traditional medicine as areas of collaboration," he pointed out. Sharing his country's vision to transform into a knowledge-based economy in the southeast Asian region this decade, Thapparansi said Thailand had launched a campaign to be the "kitchen of the world" as part of its strategic focus on the food sector. "Biotechnology will help us diversify the range of crops, improve yields and enhance quality," he said.
Source: IANS
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