Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Nov 14: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today directed Biotech Institutes across the country to promote sustainable and viable Start-ups by roping in Industry in the fast emerging field of Bio-Technology Sector.
After two-day comprehensive review of India’s 14 Autonomous Institutions under Department of Biotechnology, Dr Jitendra Singh underlined the need for Inter as well as Intra collaboration among the frontier DBT institutes for cutting-edge and translation research for the overall benefit of society and the country as well as to promote livelihood.
Heads and Directors of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting & Diagnostics, (CDFD), Hyderabad, Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Bhubaneswar, National Institute for Plant Genome Research, (NIPGR), New Delhi, Institute of Bioresources & Sustainable Development (IBSD), Imphal National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi, National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Mohali, Punjab, Center of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB), Mohali, Punjab, National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar, Haryana, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad. National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), Hyderabad, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (InStem), Bangalore, National Institute of Bio Medical Genomics(NIBMG), Kalyani took part in the review meeting.
Dr Jitendra Singh also asked the Autonomous Institutes to focus on one or two key areas of research and aspire to achieve the global standards. He also hailed most of the Institutes towards fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and the research for development of vaccines and other protocols in New Delhi.
Dr Jitendra Singh noted with satisfaction that Department of Biotechnology, DBT has supported 100 projects in the thematic areas of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, besides enabling 7 vaccine candidates by industry and 8 candidates by academia. DBT under Mission COVID Surksha also supported 5 vaccine candidates, 19clinical trial sites, 6 facilities for immunogenicity assays and animal challenge models and facility augmentation for Covaxin production, he added. The Minister, however, asked the Institutes to reiterate their ownership at regular intervals, as the credit for all good works are appropriated by private sectors.
Dr Jitendra Singh asked the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar, Haryana, which promotes translational research with a mission to ‘discover rationale therapies and cures for brain disorders’ that the Centre should take Special Intervention Study on Alzheimer, which could be world class. Similarly, he asked Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad to undertake more translational studies in the post COVID era for pursuing grand challenges in public health to produce affordable technologies through group excellence. The Minister asked inStem to promote basic and translational work in stem cells and regenerative medicine.
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