“The Indian story of Bioeconomy is that of innovation. The innovation economy continues to flourish and we aspire to become the top 5 global hub in Bioeconomy. India’s bio-economy now accounts for approximately 4% of the $4 trillion national economy which is robust and growing even as a very young economy and is slated to grow at a much faster rate from before”, said Dr Rajesh S Gokhale, secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Chairman of BIRAC during the inaugural session of the 3rd edition of Global Bio-India 2023 organized by DBT-BIRAC in New Delhi on December 4, 2023.

“Today we are at the cusp of a major breakthrough when it comes to creating this enormous bioeconomy. Hon’ble PM of the country promotes the Biovision of Bharat, and we have to pay attention to innovation and entrepreneurship.,” said Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Honorary Chairperson of ABLE and CMD, Biocon in her inaugural speech.

She added: “What we have to really focus on now is to scaling up the bio-economy. We have to use the bio-economy to address many challenges and opportunities that we have in climate change, sustainability, energy security, food and nutrition, healthcare and other aspects of economic development. Biotech and bio-economy are very inclusive and every part of our society can engage in them. The opportunities are greater today due to technology convergence and we are gradually seeing more investment and an unpreceded talent pool.

ABLE President, Mr G S Krishnan, presented the highlights of the India BioEconomy Report 2023. The bio-industrial segment was the largest contributor to the economy. Every region is looking at how it can contribute to the bioeconomy by leveraging its advantages. There has also been an increase in private equity investments, Mr Krishnan pointed out.

The top five states for Biotech startups are Maharashtra (1,162), Karnataka (852), Telangana (699), Delhi (712), and Uttar Pradesh (544). These states account for over 50% of all biotech startups in Indla. The other states have a relatively smaller number of biotech startups, with the exception of Gujarat (522) and Tamil Nadu (458).

The IBER 2023 report can be downloaded here.

Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India, Prof Ajay Kumar Sood, Secretary, DST, Dr Abhay Kharandikar, also spoke in the inaugural session. BIRAC Managing Director, Dr Jitendra Kumar, welcomed the participants and stressed the importance of GBI as it has emerged as the largest biotechnology focused event in the country.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh releases India BioEconomy Report 2023 on December 4