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State sanctions Rs 10 cr for Biotech Park

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CIOL Bureau
New Update

BANGALORE: The country's largest biotechnology event, BangaloreBio2004 got off to a start with most of the participants endorsing the fact that the theme "Biotechnology for a billion people" needed to be adopted for the industry to flourish.



Inaugurating the show, Karnataka Chief Minister, M Dharam Singh promised the biotech community that the proposed Biotech Park, Bangalore Helix would soon become a reality. "The biotechnology park will be set up in a 100 acre area close to Electronics city and would be built with an investment of Rs 100 crore. The Karnataka Government will provide Rs 10 crore initially towards the project," he said.



He also underscored the importance of IT and BT industry for the state, adding, "While we want to be pro-poor and pro-farmer, the Government will also focus on the IT and biotechnology sector."



Chairperson of the Vision group of Biotechnology, Dr Kiran Majumdar Shaw said that the increasing number of biotech companies setting up operations in Bangalore is testament to the city's brand appeal and power as a biotech hub. "Bangalore is one of the biggest bio clusters not only in India but also the world," she said.



"Of the 220 biotech companies in India, 110 are located in Karnataka and Bangalore alone has 97 companies," she added. Karnataka's biotech revenues stood at $300 million last year, out of which exports accounted for $150 million.



Shaw is optimistic that the Bangalore Helix Park would have the profile and potential to be the leading biotechnology park in India. "We hope to establish an academic core with two strong anchors, the Institute of Bio Informatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) and the Center for Human Genetics, which are world class institutions. The park will be set up as a public-private partnership and we want the government to assist in setting the academic core," she said.



German ambassador to India, Heimo E Richter announced that an MoU between the Karnataka Biotechnology Development Council (KBDC), International Technology Cooperation Network (ITCN) of German Government and Frankfurt Innovation Center for Biotechnology (FIZ) would be signed on July 12 during the Indo-German business forum meeting.






The tradeshow featuring 100 exhibitors and the BangaloreBio conference series, which features sessions on various aspects of biotechnology by experts, are also underway.





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