New Delhi, Mar 12, 2025, IANS

New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) The number of biotech startups in the country has grown from 50 in 2014 to 8,531 in 2023, said Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Science and Technology on Wednesday. Singh said this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today citing the India BioEconomy Report (IBER) 2024. The number of biotech startups grew steadily from just 50 (2014) to 732 (2015) to 1,022 (2016) to 1,732 (2017), 2,662 (2018), 3,397 (2019), and 4,237 (2020). It grew even through the Covid-19 pandemic years -- in 2021 the number of startups stood at 5,365, jumping to 6,755 in 2022 and 8,531 in 2023, the report showed. Singh informed that to nurture and strengthen the start-up ecosystem in the country with a focus on the biotech sector, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) established the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) in 2012. BIRAC serves as an interface agency addressing nationally relevant product development needs. It follows and aligns its activities in line with the National Policies announced by the Government from time to time. BIRAC supports the biotech start-up ecosystem by establishing bio-incubators through various funding schemes, which include Equity Funding Schemes, Amrit Grand Challenge, and BioE3 Policy among others. It has to date “established 95 centres”, Singh said. “BIRAC schemes and programmes are regularly assessed internally and updated in line with the evolving needs of the ecosystem. New programmes are launched as and when required. BIRAC also partners with several national and international agencies ensuring continuous support for the biotech start-up ecosystem,” the MoS said. The DBT has recently launched the BioE3 policy with the approval of the Cabinet for the development of bio-based products through the setting up of BioEnablers that include Bio-Artificial Intelligence (Bio-AI) hubs, biofoundries, and biomanufacturing hubs across the country. DBT and BIRAC announced a joint call inviting proposals for setting up ‘BioEnablers – Biofoundries and Biomanufacturing Hubs’, in both academia and industry. “From over 253 applications, 24 projects on biofoundries and biomanufacturing hubs have been recommended for support,” Singh said. These are being established across the country with a two-year duration. Further plans for setting up bio-AI hubs and biomanufacturing facilities are also under process, he added.