For the Biotech students, knowing about the Biotech parks is very necessary. In this article, you will get the necessary information about Biotech Parks in India.
What are Biotech Parks?
Biotechnology Parks in India are science and technology parks that mainly focused only on the Biotechnology
field and its development. Biotech Parks mainly provide
facilities to all scale types of biotech companies to increase the scope of
Biotechnology and Biotechnology jobs in India.
The Biotechnology Parks are the
centers that provide a good template for the promotion of Biotech start-up
companies.
Biotechnology Parks provide
facilities to scientists, researchers, and small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) for technology incubation, technology transfer, technology demonstration, and pilot plant studies for the commercial development of
Biotechnology Industries.
Idea Behind Biotech Parks in India
In India, the Department of
Biotechnology was established in the year 1986 by the Ministry of Science and
Technology. The Government of India has been supporting Biotechnology by establishing
a strong network of Life science, Chemical, and Biotech-related research
institutes and developing academic institutes to fulfill the skilled Biotech
human resources requirements.
But there was not much growth in
the Biotech sector for many years. So to boost Biotechnology in India, the
idea of Biotechnology parks is taken from the successful experience of the
information technology parks (IT Parks) in the country. Today all the major
cities of India have at least one IT park that has all the required facilities.
You Like to Read: Scope of Biotechnology in India
Concept of Biotech Parks in India
The concept of Biotechnology
parks has taken from foreign countries' science and technology parks, where the
special focus is on Biotechnology development. A science park as a business
support and technology transfer initiative that plays the following role.
Encourages and supports the new
start-up and integration of innovation-led high-growth knowledge-based
business.
Formal and operational links with
centers of knowledge creation, such as Universities, higher educational
institutes, and research centers or organizations.
You Like to Read: Types of
Biotechnology Courses
Need for Biotechnology Parks in India
In India, the major limitation or
restrictions faced by the new start-ups and entrepreneurs for the Biotechnology
industry growth is listed below.
- The Biotechnology industry needs huge capital for investment and also needs a very time-long period in developing new inventions at the commercial level.
- Getting financial support for a new project for commercialization and getting venture capital for the new innovative invention is a tough job.
- There is a lack of necessary adequate incentives that cover risks in high-risk projects.
- There is less public-private partnership and interaction. There is also a lack of knowledge related to technologies, infrastructure facilities available in institutes, and how to promote public-private interactions.
- There is a high rate of technology obsolescence so there is a requirement to reach new technologies. It is not easy to access intellectual properties, knowledge, and technologies.
- In India, there are lots of rules and regulations and also there are a bunch of regulatory authorities that make it difficult for a project to implement in a commercial industry.
- There is less skilled manpower available for new technology.
- A lack of proper information makes a project failure. So regional and interregional interaction is needed for technology collaboration and reaching the market.
- In India, there is a weakness in the specialized field of knowledge such as IPR and Biosafety. It makes delays in the new projects.
You Like to Read:
Scholarship
for Biotechnology students
What is National Biotechnology Parks Scheme?
The Department of Biotechnology
of India has launched the National Biotechnology Park Scheme for the
development of Biotechnology Parks in India under the Ministry of Science
and Technology.
Under this scheme, the government
of India will provide financial assistance for setting up new Biotechnology
Parks in India that leads to facilitating Biotechnology product research &
development, entrepreneurship, commercialization, and innovation.
Objectives of the National Biotechnology Park Scheme
The main objectives of the
National Biotechnology Park Scheme are listed below:
- To boost up the Biotechnology sector all over the country by setting up new Biotechnology parks in India.
- To develop high-quality infrastructure and the best central types of equipment facilities with the necessary support services for undertaking Research & Development, commercial product development, piloting, and validation by SMEs and Biotechnology Industries.
- To provide strength to the existing infrastructure facilities to make the Indian Biotechnology industry a global leader in the world.
- To create high-quality infrastructure with the necessary support for undertaking Research and Development.
- To nourish innovation and entrepreneurship in the Biotechnology sector.
- To facilitate a favorable ecosystem for the growth of the biotechnology industry.
- To increase the competitiveness of the Biotechnology industry by providing easy access to a robust infrastructure and enabling the environment.
Model of Biotech Park in India
The Biotech Parks model in India
is a little different from the Science and Technology Parks of foreign
countries. In India, there is limited access to the technologies and fewer
facilities available.
For promoting Biotech
investments, Biotechnology parks in India should work as a model to promote
Biotechnology incubation and scale up as well as commercial manufacturing
activities by providing infrastructure support, facilities, and incentives so as
to minimize the restriction and make Biotechnology a preferred for investments.
You Like to Read: Colors of Biotechnology
Functions of Biotech Parks in India
Biotech parks provide business
support and technology transfer initiative that do the following functions.
- Biotechnology parks in India have lots of functions for boosting the Biotechnology industry. Some of the major functions are listed below.
- A Biotech park should encourage, support, incubate, and help in the development of new Biotech innovations.
- The facilities for the new start-ups should include physical facilities such as office space, dry and wet laboratories, high-end specialized equipment, and instrumentation facilities.
- It must include pilot plant and scale-up units, for commercial trials and a good communication network for setting a business model.
- Biotech Park should provide developed land at a cost-effective rate for carrying out the manufacturing activities of the new start-ups.
- The Biotech parks should have formal and operational links with centers of higher educational institutes, universities, and research centers specializing in Biotechnology.
- These centers could become the primary source of the basic technologies for incubation and development into commercial ventures, particularly catering to the needs of small and startup enterprises.
- Biotech parks should be assisted through consultancy in troubleshooting, technology up-gradation, contract research, etc.
- They have to provide consultancy and networking on IPR, Biosafety, regulatory-related issues, source of funds for projects, and new start-ups.
Growth of Biotechnology Parks in India
For the development and growth of
the Biotechnology industry in India, the Government of India establishes the
Department of Biotechnology in the year 1986 under the Ministry of Science and
Technology.
Later the Government of India
establishes Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL) in 1990 as a public limited
company. BCIL's major functions were the development and transfer of technology
for the commercialization of Biotechnology products, project consultancy,
biosafety awareness, and human resource development for the Biotechnology
industry.
In India, State Biotech policies
started in 2001 and Karnataka was the first Indian state that announces a
Biotechnology policy in 2001 to promote the Biotech industry. Later other states
like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana,
Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc. announce and
launches the Biotech policies for their states within 2-4 years.
BCIL has already successfully
managed various schemes and Programmes for the Department of Biotechnology
such as the Small Business Innovation Research Initiative, Biotech Industrial
Training Programme, and Biotech Industry Partnership Programme.
The Department of Biotechnology
(DBT) of the Government of India along with the State Governments and various
research institutions are playing a key role in setting up and
operationalization of Biotech Parks in India.
Biotech Consortium India Limited
(BCIL) plays a major role in preparing the project reports (DPRs) for setting
up Biotechnology parks in India. BCIL has already prepared
DPRs for the more than 20 different Biotechnology parks and has been playing a
key role in their establishment.
You Like To Read: Fermentation Industries in India
Operational Biotech Parks in India
Since the year 2000, there are
lots of Biotech Parks in India have been established and in the coming
years, there will be more Biotechnology parks and incubation centers established
in India.
The Department of Biotechnology
(DBT) of the Government of India so far, has currently supported 9
Biotechnology Parks in various States. These are
- Biotech Park, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
- Biotechnology Incubation Centre, Hyderabad, Telangana
- Tidco Centre for Life Sciences (TICEL) Biotech Park, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- The Golden Jubilee Biotech Park for Women, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Biotech Park Technology Incubation Centre, Guwahati, Assam
- Biotechnology Incubation Centre, Cochin, Kerala
- Biotechnology Park, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Industrial Biotechnology Parks (IBTPs), Jammu & Kashmir
- Chhattisgarh Biotech Park, Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh
Proposed Biotech Parks in India
There are various proposed
Biotech Parks also in India that may be fully operational in the near years.
- Biotech Park, Konark, Chandrabhaga, Odisha
- Marine Biotech Park, Ganjam, Odisha
- Boranda Biotech Park, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
- Herbal Pharma Biotech Park, Betma, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
- Ansals API Biotech Park, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
- Pantnagar Biotech Park, Haldi, Uttaranchal
- Solan Biotech Park, Himachal Pradesh
- Jogindernagar Biotech Park, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
Intellectual Knowledge and Patents Production by the Biotechnology Parks in India
Since there were no official
operational Biotech parks in India before the year 2000 so publications related to Biotech did not consider here. The Biotech-related knowledge
and intellectual property growth started only from 2001 onwards.
There were only two scholarly publications in the year 2001, later the growth of the publication increases exponentially and now it increases day by day.
There were only two scholarly publications in the year 2001, later the growth of the publication increases exponentially and now it increases day by day.
