Context
Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that India’s Bioeconomy grew more than 10 cases in the last 10 years.
What is BioEconomy?
- The BioEconomy is the expertise based production and use of biological resources to provide products, procedures and services in all financial sectors in the frame of a sustainable financial system.
- It encompasses sectors like agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food production, biotechnology, and bioenergy.
- Subsectors of the BioEconomy in India are;
- BioPharma or BioMedical: It consists of the development and production of medical products and services, including prescribed drugs, medical devices, and lab-grown organoids.
- BioAgri: It consists of the development and production of genetically modified crops and animals, precision agriculture technology, and bio-primarily based products. Ex: Bt Cotton.
- BioIndustrial: It includes the development and manufacturing of biobased chemical compounds and products, the usage of enzymes, biosynthetic routes, and recombinant DNA generation.
BioEconomy of India
- India’s BioEconomy has grown 13-fold over the last decade, from $10 billion in 2014 to over $130 billion in 2024, with a projection to attain $three hundred billion with the aid of 2030.
- In the Global Innovation Index, India has climbed from 81st region in 2015 to 40th out of 132 economies.
- India ranks 3rd within the Asia-Pacific area and 12th globally in terms of biomanufacturing.
- Biotechnology, a dawn region, has done a valuation of Rs 75,000 crore over the last 10 years.
- In 2022, BioEconomy accounted for 4% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.47 trillion and employs over 2 million human beings.
Government Initiatives
- Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) established through the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is aimed toward strengthening and empowering rising biotechnology establishments to adopt strategic research and innovation.
- Policy initiatives of the Government of India (GoI) along with Startup India and Make in India programs are aimed to increase India as a world-elegance Biotechnology and Bio-manufacturing hub.
- Favorable Government Policies like Draft R&D Policy 2021, PLI Schemes and medical trial regulations have propelled India to be the ‘pharmacy of the arena’.
Challenges for BioEconomy of India
- Global Competition: India’s BioEconomy faces stiff opposition from greater installed bio Economies in countries just like the USA, EU, and China, that have superior infrastructure, investment, and R&D abilities.
- Intellectual Property (IP) Protection: Protecting intellectual property in the biotech sector is tough, leading to issues over innovation robbery and shortage of incentives for studies.
- Lack of Infrastructure: Insufficient infrastructure for studies, development, and commercialization of biotechnology developments.
- Brain Drain: Talented scientists and researchers depart India for better opportunities abroad, reducing the country’s capability for innovation.
Way Ahead
- Encourage increased public and private investment in biotech R&D through offers, tax incentives, and task capital support.
- Engage in international research collaborations to leverage information, share resources, and boost up the development of recent technologies.
- Develop innovation clusters/ecosystems wherein academia, industry, and government entities can collaborate closely on BioEconomy initiatives.
Source: The PIB
UPSC Prelims Practice Question
Q. Other than resistance to pests, what are the prospects for which genetically engineered plants have been created? (2012)
- To enable them to withstand drought
- To increase the nutritive value of the produce
- To enable them to grow and do photosynthesis in spaceships and space stations
- To increase their shelf life
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Ans: (c)
.png)
