National regulatory body for BT sector on the anvil

The Centre will soon set up a national biotechnology regulatory authority, Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state for science and technology, said here on Thursday, inaugurating the ninth edition of ‘Bangalore Bio 2009’.

The national biotechnology regulatory authority will be set up in partnership with the industry, keeping in view the rapid strides being taken in the area of agro- and food biotechnology research and application.

He termed the biotechnology industry as “a game changer with disruptive technologies”. Chavan said biotechnology had come of age in India, with 330 firms present in the country across various sectors including bio-pharmaceuticals, bio-agriculture, bio-informatics, bio-services and bio-industries.

“Though the industry has been hit by recession, it will resume high growth rates once recovery takes place from $2.5 billion in 2008,” Chavan noted. He said the science and technology department is setting up eight institutions across the country to promote innovation in biotechnology.