03-September-2024-Special-Article

BioE3 POLICY

The BioE3 Policy has been introduced by the Department of Biotechnology with the aim to foster high-performance biomanufacturing in India. It aligns with national goals such as achieving a ‘Net Zero’ carbon economy and promoting sustainable development through a circular bioeconomy.

This policy is also focused on job creation, especially in tier-II and tier-III cities, and aims to position India as a global leader in biotechnology.

 

Key Objectives:

• Encouraging Innovation: The policy supports research and development (R&D) and entrepreneurship in biomanufacturing.
• Establishing Biomanufacturing Hubs: Setting up Biomanufacturing and Bio-AI hubs to promote regional development by utilizing local biomass.
• Expanding Workforce: A key aim is to build a skilled biotechnology workforce aligned with India’s ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ (LiFE) programs.
• Regenerative Bioeconomy: Focus on creating regenerative bioeconomy models to ensure sustainability.
• Ethical Biosafety: Emphasis on biosafety standards and global regulatory alignment to enhance India’s competitiveness while promoting ethical biotechnological practices.

Core Themes:

• Bio-Based Chemicals and Enzymes: Development of eco-friendly chemicals and enzymes.
• Functional Foods and Smart Proteins: Innovations in nutritional food products to address food security challenges.
• Precision Biotherapeutics: Focus on advanced medicine and therapeutics to improve healthcare.
• Climate-Resilient Agriculture: Promoting agricultural methods that can withstand climate change.
• Carbon Capture and Utilization: Encouraging technologies that can capture and use carbon.
• Marine and Space Research: Advancing research in marine and space biotechnology to explore new frontiers in biomanufacturing.

Vigyan Dhara Scheme

The Vigyan Dhara Scheme is a unified initiative by the Ministry of Science & Technology, created by merging three previous schemes into one. The objective is to streamline funding and improve coordination in scientific research and development. This scheme is aimed at strengthening India’s R&D base and increasing participation in science, particularly among women.

Objectives:

• Improve Fund Utilization: The scheme seeks to better use funds across various scientific programs.
• Expand R&D Base: A key goal is to increase the number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) researchers in India.
• Gender Parity: Vigyan Dhara will emphasize enhancing women’s participation in science, technology, and innovation.
• Support for Innovations: It will foster innovations from school to industry and strengthen collaboration between academia and industry.

Goals:

• Complement BioE3 Policy: Vigyan Dhara will boost biotechnology infrastructure and support the BioE3 policy.
• Strengthen S&T Infrastructure: Enhance basic and translational research in areas like sustainable energy and water management.
• Develop Critical Human Resources: Create a pool of talented scientists and researchers to drive India’s long-term development goals.

Biotechnology: An Overview

Biotechnology is the application of biological processes to develop new products and technologies that benefit society. It combines biology and technology to address challenges in healthcare, agriculture, and environmental sustainability.

Benefits:

• Healthcare Advances: Medical biotechnology has led to the development of advanced drugs, vaccines, and therapies such as personalized medicine and gene therapy.
• Agricultural Innovation: Genetic modification of crops has increased pest resistance and drought tolerance, improving food security.
• Environmental Sustainability: Biotechnology promotes bioremediation—the use of organisms to clean up pollutants such as oil spills and plastics.
• Industrial Biotechnology: Focuses on creating biofuels and biodegradable materials to reduce environmental harm.
• Economic Growth: Biotechnology generates employment in research, development, and manufacturing, contributing to economic development.
• Climate Change Mitigation: Innovations in biotech help in carbon capture, reducing the overall impact of greenhouse gases.

Current State of Biotechnology in India

Biotechnology Hub:

• India is among the top 12 biotech destinations globally.
• The pandemic accelerated India’s biotech growth, leading to advancements in vaccines, medical devices, and diagnostic tests.
• In 2022, India had over 6,756 biotech startups, with expectations to reach 10,000 by 2025.

Bioeconomy:

• India’s bioeconomy has surged from USD 10 billion in 2014 to over USD 130 billion in 2024.
• The biopharma sector is the largest contributor, making up 49% of the bioeconomy’s value.

Government Initiatives:

• National Biotechnology Development Strategy (2020-25): Provides a roadmap for the growth of the biotech sector.
• Biotech-KISAN Scheme: Promotes biotech applications for farmers.
• National Biopharma Mission: Boosts innovation in biopharma.

Recent R&D Achievements:

• ADVIKA Chickpea Variety: A drought-resistant variety developed to improve food security.
• Indigenous Vaccines: India developed pioneering vaccines like the quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus (qHPV) and ZyCoV-D, a DNA vaccine.

Challenges for Biotechnology in India

Strategic Planning:

• Lack of a comprehensive strategic roadmap to outline the competitive areas for R&D.

Bio-Networking:

• There’s a need for improved collaboration among biotech businesses to address intellectual property rights and biosafety.

Human Resources:

• More investment is needed in specialized biotechnology education, especially in remote regions.

Regulatory Burden:

• The current regulatory environment is slow, especially regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs), creating delays.

Funding and Investment:

• More investment is required to support high-risk biotech projects and foster innovation.

Way Forward

Workforce Development:

• Expanding training programs like the Biotech Industrial Training Programme (BITP) to create a skilled workforce.

Public-Private Partnerships:

• Encourage venture capital investments and public-private partnerships to drive biotech innovations.

Regulatory and Financial Support:

• Simplify regulatory processes and offer tax incentives to attract biotech firms.
• Use schemes like Production Linked Incentive (PLI) to boost competitiveness.

Global Collaboration:

• India should engage more with global biotech initiatives and export biotechnology products to the international market.

Mains question:

1. “Discuss the significance of the BioE3 Policy in positioning India as a global leader in biotechnology while aligning with sustainable development goals like ‘Net Zero’ and a circular bioeconomy.” (150 WORDS)