Lab-grown food to fabrics, what’s bio-manufacturing & how India’s BioE3 policy could give it a boost
New Delhi: The government’s new BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) policy, aimed at fostering high-performance biomanufacturing in the country, will enable India to lead the global bio-revolution, officials from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) said.
The Cabinet approved the BioE3 policy Saturday.
Biomanufacturing is a process that uses biological systems of living organisms to produce commercially viable products. Biodegradable plastic, textiles, food etc, can be bio-manufactured to supplement the growing population demands.
Show Full Article
For instance, to supplement the demand for animal products like milk and eggs, factory-produced milk and eggs can be an alternative. These products will carry the same nutritional value and will be able to feed large populations in the coming years. Similarly, bio-manufactured alternatives to silk, cotton etc will become the need of the hour as the demand for textile grows.
“Our present era is an opportune time to invest in the industrialisation of biology to promote sustainable and circular practices to address some of the critical societal issues such as climate change mitigation, food security and human health,” a statement issued by the government read.
It added, “Building a resilient biomanufacturing ecosystem in our nation is important to accelerate cutting-edge innovations for developing bio-based products.”
ThePrint breaks down the BioE3 policy—what it is, how it will be implemented, and why the industry is skeptical.
What is the policy?
Senior officials from the Department of Biotechnology—which falls under the Ministry of Science and Technology and will lead the implementation of the policy in various sectors with over 21 government ministries—explained that the policy has been proposed to drive innovative solutions for high-performance biomanufacturing; facilitate, scale-up and commercialise bio-based products; and intensify the country’s entrepreneurial momentum.
The policy also promises to expand India’s workforce, provide a surge in job creation and build a circular bio-economy by reducing, reusing and recycling waste materials, officials added.
“This is a bio-vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’. We will be setting the stage for the future,” a top DBT official told ThePrint.
The BioE3 policy will be implemented under six identified thematic verticals and augmented by bio-enablers called the ‘Mulankars’.
These bio-enablers will be bio-based chemicals and enzymes; functional foods and smart proteins; precision biotherapeutics; climate resilient agriculture; carbon capture and its utilisation; and futuristic marine and space research. The work on these enablers will essentially involve the development of bio-artificial intelligence and biomanufacturing hubs and bio-foundries to augment discovery and translational research.
The bio-AI hubs will act as pre-commercial scale manufacturing facilities for researchers, start-ups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and industries, which will translate innovative R&D leads into viable commercial bio-based products.
On the other hand, biomanufacturing hubs will serve as centralised facilities that focus on producing, developing, and commercialising bio-based products through advanced manufacturing technologies and collaborative efforts, focusing on innovation and sustainability.
“The Mulankar bio-enablers will be used to bridge the gap between ‘lab-to-pilot’ and ‘pre-commercial’ scale manufacturing of commercially viable bio-based products,” the policy document read.
Also read: ‘Vigyan Shri’ awardee says Indian Ocean remains poorly explored, hails Samudrayaan deep-sea mission
Implementation
The DBT has already started working on various aspects of the policy.
Different labs under the aegis of DBT are experimenting with foods with specific nutritional value, biodegradable plastics, reusable textiles, and agricultural byproducts, which can be scaled commercially in the coming years.
With a probable increase in population size and the extreme impacts of climate change, countries will likely face an acute resource shortage in the coming years. In such a scenario, bio-manufactured, industry-made products will act as alternatives to bridge the gap between natural availability of resources and public demands.
Government estimates show that India’s bio-economy will reach Rs 24,000 billion by 2030 and will account for around 5-6 percent share of India’s GDP. The policy hopes that high-performance biomanufacturing will act as a strong catalyst towards this.
A scientist at one of the DBT-funded labs said that the implementation of the BioE3 policy will be done through a “public-private co-creation model”, which will combine the expertise of the academia, start-ups, universities and the industry. It will not only strengthen inter-ministerial collaborations, but will also promote international cooperation.
Private players will be closely involved in the research and innovation stage. They will also be assisting the government in bringing the developed products to the market.
“It will focus on both discovery and innovation as well as bridging the gap for scale-up bio-based products identified based on their domestic demand and those holding a promise for import substitute,” the scientist said on the condition of anonymity.
The industry, while welcoming the policy, is sceptical about the implementation.
Dr Aldon Fernandes, head of operations at the Genei Laboratories, said that a robust ecosystem needs to be developed to encourage and empower start-ups to innovate and scale up operations so that products can be used commercially.
“If you look at the current situation of biomanufacturing and biotechnology in India, we are at least 10-15 years behind our counterparts in the US and UK. The government policies have a very top-down view. It has the interests of big companies. But innovations happen in start-ups and they are not provided with ample assistance and resources to go from start-ups to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises). The state governments also need to be roped in for the better implementation of the policy,” said Fernandes.
Also read: A dairy disruption is brewing in Indian startups—making protein without animal cruelty
Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their original owners.
Comments are closed.