State unveils new BT policy

Fiscal incentives to be provided as per the new industrial policy

Releasing the policy, Principal Secretary IT, BT S&T Ashok Kumar Manoli said the new policy will provide all fiscal incentives and concessions under Karnataka Industry policy 2009-14 to bio technology industry and the R&D centres.

Biotech organisations will get incentives including a subsidy of 50 per cent for setting up effluent treatment plants. The financial incentives includes assistance for patent tracking and patent registration.

According to the new policy biotech will be treated as special industrial consumers and provided with dedicated power lines that are exempt from power cuts. It also assures power connection to biotech companies within 10 days of applications. Bio inforamtics companies that use up to 50 KVA power will be permitted to be established without any local restrictions. The Biotech unit will be exempted from electricity duty of 100 per cent.

The government also express its commitment and importance of creating a start up ecosystem and the government will encourage setting up of venture capital funds for biotech industries called KBIO-Ven fund of Rs 50 crore. Companies with focused area on transgenics, stem cell biology, bio manufacturing and other social relevance will be eligible for funding.

A separate fund of  Rs 15-20 crore will be used to issue grants in the range of Rs 10-20 lakh for firms that translate research to commercial projects.  The government will also offer tillable agricultural land  of 15-20 acres of land and solely for agriculture related bio tech field trials and experiments for a period of 35 years.  All R&D labs will be automatically come under the green category, and omitted from pollution control board permission for setting up labs.

The government will set up ten BT finishing school selected by vision group. The government will provide financial support to the schools to set up lab instruments and other technology related gadgets to train students. It will also provide specific infrastructure for the development of biotechnology. This includes promoting of Hi-tech bio tech park in the state. A 106 acre Biotech park Bangalore Helix is coming up in Electronic City.  A Bio-IT park in a 100 acre plant in Ramanagaram is also planned.