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Bio-innovation centre in City soon

Last Updated 09 February 2015, 19:47 IST

Bengaluru, being a powerhouse of biotech industry, will soon have a bio-innovation centre, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Monday.


After inaugurating the 15th edition of the three-day Bangalore India Bio 2015 here, Siddaramaiah said: “The proposed innovation centre will offer plenty of opportunities for innovative ideas to be commercialised, leading to blossoming of several startups in life sciences and pharmaceuticals,” he said.

“The centre will be an incubation-cum-accelerator unit. Synthetic biology is an emerging field that combines the knowledge of biology and engineering. The engineering principles and synthetic biology are aimed at designing or redesigning and construct new or existing biological parts, devices and systems for useful purposes. About 26 per cent of the biotech revenues of the country, particularly in terms of exports, are generated by the biotech industry in Karnataka. Our state is an ideal destination for biotech industry,” he said.

Karnataka is the only state which is taking innovative initiatives in supporting the development of biotechnology. The present biotechnology policy of the State, adopted in 2009, required a few changes.

He said the biotech sector showed a promising growth rate and continued to inspire dreams of a prosperous future. “Almost 52 per cent of all biotech firms in India are situated in Bengaluru, which comprises the top 10 biotech firms as well. The State’s vision group headed by Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has recommended a few changes in the present policy adopted in 2009 in order to keep pace with the developments in the industry. The new state-of-the-art biotechnology park will be operational in two years,” he said. Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javdekar, called for co-operative competition in the field of innovation. “Bengaluru is emerging as a biotech capital. We missed the bus of industrial revolution; we will not miss the bus of biotechnology. India lacks in innovation. It is only innovation that gives sustainable prosperity,” he said.

Principal Secretary, Department of IT and Biotechnology, Karnataka, Srivatsa Krishna said the country’s first bioscience incubator facility will be operational from June. Besides setting up the incubator facility at Electronic City, the State has proposed to host a synthetic chemistry laboratory in the City.

Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Minister for IT, BT, Science and Technology S R Patil were present.

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(Published 09 February 2015, 19:47 IST)

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