India aims to lead next industrial revolution with biomanufacturing policy

New Delhi: India is positioning itself at the forefront of the next industrial revolution with its new biomanufacturing policy designed to tackle food, energy, and climate challenges, officials said on Sunday.

Approved by the Union Cabinet on Saturday, the BioE3 policy for fostering high-performance biomanufacturing aims to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in different fields.

High-performance biomanufacturing involves the manufacturing of products ranging from medicine to materials, tackling farming and food challenges, and promoting the making of bio-products through the integration of advanced biotechnological processes.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Interim Budget had announced "a new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry" to provide environment-friendly alternatives such as biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, biopharmaceuticals and bio-agri inputs.

"India aims to lead the next industrial revolution. Unlike the semiconductor industry, which arrived in India 15-20 years later, we must seize this opportunity now. Biomanufacturing will help existing industries meet growing demands for food and fuel while also creating new job opportunities," Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology, said during a media briefing.

"The world has experienced several industrial revolutions -- driven by steam power, electricity, oil, and information and communication technology. Countries that embraced new technologies advanced more quickly.

"The next revolution will be driven by the industrialisation of biological sources and processes. Therefore, the BioE3 policy aligns with India's goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047," Gokhale said.

The DBT secretary said biomanufacturing offers solutions to climate change, resource depletion, waste generation, and pollution through innovations like biotextiles and bioplastics.

Enzymes and microbial strains are essential for this process. Novazyme is a leading global producer of enzymes, he said.

In India, research is underway at facilities like the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Delhi and the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute in Mohali, he said.

Gokhale said India imports about three-fourths of its crude oil and the goal is to replace some of this oil with products made from biomass, plastic waste, and carbon dioxide over the next 20 years.

"The BioE3 policy is designed to streamline these processes," he said. Gokhale said India is the largest producer of milk, but each person gets only 459 grams per day.

With the population growing, increasing the number of cattle heads is not sustainable due to land and water constraints, rising feed costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and antibiotic resistance, he said.

Bio-manufacturing could help meet dairy needs through non-dairy milk alternatives and ensure resource sustainability, he said.

Scientists present at the briefing mentioned that an Indian steel company is also working on integrating algal farms with its facilities to capture carbon dioxide directly from exhaust gases.

This policy focuses on six key sectoral pillars — high-value bio-based chemicals, biopolymers and enzymes, smart proteins and functional foods, precision biotherapeutics, climate-resilient agriculture, carbon capture and utilisation, and marine and space research.

These six thematic sectors will be supported by the establishment of three types of "mulaankur" bio-enablers.

The term "mulaankur" refers to the radicle that first emerges from a germinating seed, eventually developing into the main root of a plant, providing essential nutrients and water throughout the plant’s life cycle.

Therefore, "mulaankur" aptly symbolises the foundational roles these three hubs will play in driving high-performance biomanufacturing.

The three hubs comprise Bio-Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hubs to power AI-driven research and predictive analytics, Biomanufacturing and Biofoundry hubs to address scale-up challenges and pre-commercial development, and initiatives to invest in human resource skilling.

Regulatory reforms and strategic incentives will be implemented to reduce the timelines for the development and commercialization of bio-based products.

High-Performance Biomanufacturing, or HPB, will facilitate a transition towards fossil-free production of bio-based chemicals and fuels.

These advancements will also address the critical issue of food security for future generations by paving the way for the industrial production of fermentation-based foods with a low carbon footprint.

In the future, HPB technologies could enable the production of food from minimal resources, such as atmospheric carbon dioxide, within hours by fixing both carbon and nitrogen through novel engineered thermo-bacteria.

Such solutions will be crucial in supporting the on-demand production of nutritious, palatable, and safe foods during humanitarian crises, disaster relief efforts, and future space explorations.

The BioE3 Policy will be implemented through a public-private co-creation model, combining expertise from academia, startups, universities, and industry.

The policy will focus on both discovery and innovation, as well as bridging the gap for scaling up bio-based products identified based on domestic demand and their potential as import substitutes.