Bengaluru to get Bio Innovation Park on UAS campus

The government will set up a Bio-Innovation Park on a five-acre land at the University of Agriculture Sciences campus that already houses the Bengaluru Life Sciences Cluster.

Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan on Thursday met Agriculture Minister B C Patil and sought him to allot five acres on the university’s campus on Ballari Road, close to the life sciences cluster. According to Narayan, who is the IT/BT Minister, the Bio-Innovation Park will be set up under the Centre’s National Biotechnology Parks scheme.

The proposed park will complement the activities of the Bengaluru Life Sciences Cluster that comprises the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem) and Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP).

“This is more like an expansion project,” Narayan said. The Bio-Innovation Park will have research and incubation activities in the area of biotechnology, he said.

“It’ll provide space for startups,” he said, adding that the facility will help Karnataka attract innovation amid stiff competition posed by neighbouring states.

According to a statement from Narayan’s office, it was the C-CAMP that proposed setting up the Bio-Innovation Park.