In a landmark
initiative with far reaching futuristic implications,
the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the BioE3
(Biotechnology for Economy, Employment and Environment) Policy of the
Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to foster high-performance biomanufacturing
for a clean, green, prosperous, and self-reliant Bharat. This will ensure for
India a pioneering role in the global arena as one of the earliest
torch-bearers of world’s future economic growth.
The unsustainable
pattern of material consumption, excessive resource utilization and waste
generation have led to global cataclysms such as forest fires, melting
glaciers, and declining biodiversity.Keeping in view the national priority of
steering India on the path of accelerated ‘Green Growth’, the integrated
BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) Policy is a
positive and decisive step towards sustainable growth in the challenging backdrop
of climate change, depleting non-renewable resources, and unsustainable waste
generation.A major aim of this policy is to stimulate the
transitionofchemical-basedindustries tomoresustainable bio-based industrial
models. It will also promote a circular bioeconomyand provide an
impetus to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by encouraging the utilization
of waste from biomass, landfills, green house gases,etc.by microbial cell factories
to produce bio-based products.
In addition, the BioE3 Policy
will create novel solutionsfor fostering the growth of India’sbioeconomy,
facilitating scale-up and commercialisation of bio-based products; reducing,
reusing, and recycling waste materials; expanding India’s cohort of a highly
skilled workforce; driving a surge in job creation; and intensifying
entrepreneurial momentum. Salient features of the Policy include: 1) Encouragement and support to indigenous research
anddevelopment-focused entrepreneurship across thematic sectors such as
high-value bio-based chemicals, biopolymers & enzymes; smart proteins &
functional foods; precision biotherapeutics; climate resilient agriculture;
carbon capture and its utilization; and marine and space research;2)
Accelerationof technology development &commercialization by establishing bio
manufacturing facilities, bio foundry clusters, and bio-artificial
intelligence (Bio-AI) hubs; 3); Prioritizing regenerative models of
economic growth and job creation with an emphasis on ethical & biosafety
consideration; 4) Harmonizing regulatory reforms with global standards.
India has demonstrated strong economic growth in the past
decade and has tremendous potential to be amongst the global leaders of the 4th industrial
revolution.Our
bioeconomy has grown 13 folds from $10 billion in 2014 to over $130 billion in
2024. It isfurther expected to reach a market value of $300 billion by 2030.
The implementation of BioE3 Policy across diverse sectors is likely to further
boost the country’s bioeconomy, while promoting ‘Green Growth’.The
foundation for this will be laid by leveraging
emerging technologies and innovationsthat result from nurturing the country's
high-performance biomanufacturing initiatives.Biomanufacturing is primed
to become an important pillar of the ‘Make in India’ initiative and will
provide a transformative approach to meet the demands of 21st
century. As a multidisciplinary endeavour, it has the power to unlock the
potential of microbes, plants, and animal cells including human cells to
develop bio-based products cost-effectively with a minimal carbon footprint.
It is envisioned that biomanufacturing hubs
will serve as centralized facilities that catalyze the production, development,
and commercialization of bio-based products through advanced manufacturing
technologies, and collaborative efforts.Thiswill create a community where resources,
expertise, and technology can be shared to drive scalability, sustainability,
and innovation of biomanufacturing processes.Thesebiomanufacturinghubs
will bridge the gap between ‘lab-to-pilot’
and ‘pre-commercial scale’
manufacturing of bio-based products. Start-ups will
play a pivotal role in this process by bringing and developing novel ideas and
feedingthem into small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and established
manufacturers.
Biofoundry refers to the creation of advanced clusters for
making biological engineering processes scalable – from the initial design and
testing stages to pilot and pre-commercial production. Large-scale manufacturing of mRNA-based vaccines and
proteins for a wide variety of applications aresome appreciable examples for
which biofoundries could be valuable. These clusterswill specializein designing, constructing, and
testing biological systems and organisms using standardized and automated
processes.
Bio-AI hubswill serve as a focal point for encouragingand incentivizing
the integration of AI in researchand development. These Bio-AI hubs
will provide
biotechnological expertise, cutting-edge infrastructure, and logistical support
for the integration, storage, and analysis of large-scale biological data using
AI and machine learning. Making these resources accessible to experts from
various disciplines (biology, epidemiology,computer science, engineering, data
science, for example.)willfacilitate the creation of innovative bio-based end
products – be it a new variety of gene therapy, or a new food processing
alternative.
Through these
coordinated initiatives, the BioE3 policy will bring a surge in employment, particularly in tier-II and tier-III cities, where bio manufacturing
hubs are proposed to beset up due to their proximity to biomass sources. By
investing in India’s economy, environment, and employment, this comprehensive
policy will contribute towards the nation’s sankalp of ‘Viksit Bharat’. This
policy will serve as a benchmark that highlight showan effective science policy
can activelycontribute towards nation-building and development.
