Odisha govt launches Biotechnology Policy 2018 to attract investment

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday launched a Biotechnology Policy 2018 to attract investments to the state.

“We assure investors full support of the state government to the investors for setting up their projects. By collaborative efforts between the state government and private stakeholders, we aim to make Odisha a top biotech investment destination in the country,” said Science and Technology Minister Badri Narayan Patra at the Make in Odisha Conclave.

The conclave, one of the largest investment summits in India, showcased the immense potential and opportunities for the biotechnology sector in Odisha for various domestic and international investors.

“To support the biotechnology growth in Odisha we are proud to announce the new Biotech Policy 2018. This is the result of a wide range of discussions and inputs from various industry stakeholders, which have been incorporated in this new robust policy,” said the Minister.

He said the development of the biotechnology sector in Odisha will be based on three key pillars – innovation, entrepreneurship and investment.

“We will provide our full support for the development of this sector by forming public-private partnerships, bio incubation centres and biotech finishing schools. We will collaborate with various international organizations to provide cutting-edge technology in the biotech sector,” he added.

In the Biotechnology Policy 2018, the government has provided attractive incentives for stakeholders to invest in Odisha.

Chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said, “Biotechnology is one of the emerging technologies that has excellent potential to grow in Odisha. We have seen how IT has transformed the country and the world, biotech is another such emerging technology and we in Odisha should take full advantage of this sector.”

“We are home to leading academic institutes providing a pool of technology and scientist workforce and have constituted a policy in place to attract startups and entrepreneur, which will provide an essential platform to stakeholders who want to invest in the biotechnology sector in Odisha.

We have also signed an agreement with ITES, Singapore to building a skill development centre in Bhubaneswar, and we will be establishing the centre for excellence to support the biotechnology sector in Odisha. Our new policy will take care of many matters and will support entry-level and later stage product development in the biotech sector in Odisha,” said Padhi.

Padmabhushan Prof. G. Padmanabhan, Senior Science & Innovation Advisor, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) spoke on six significant steps that the state government should adopt to make Odisha a biotechnology hub in India and abroad.

He spoke about the requirement of needleless delivery of vaccine, concentrate on the development of Nanobodies, biomass conversion, eliminating malaria through biological route, gene editing and synthetic biology.

Dr Krishna Ella, founder of Bharat Biotech said that Odisha’s Biotech policy is best in the country.

He complimented the speed and urgency with which government of Odisha works.

He expressed his intention of investing Rs. 500 crore in biotechnology park in Bhubaneswar.