 | |
| Abbreviation | DBT |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1986 |
| Type | Government organisation |
| Headquarters | New Delhi |
Region served | India |
| Jitendra Singh | |
Secretary | Rajesh Sudhir Gokhale |
| Affiliations | Ministry of Science and Technology (India) |
| Website | dbtindia |
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is an Indian government department, under the Ministry of Science and Technology responsible for administrating development and commercialisation in the field of modern biology and biotechnology in India. It was set up in 1986. [1]
| Name | Designation | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Jitendra Singh | Hon'ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) | Ministry of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences |
| Dr. Rajesh Sudhir Gokhale | Secretary | Department of Biotechnology |
| Abhinav Gupta | PS to Hon. Minister of Science & Technology | Minister’s Office |
New institutes
Supported laboratories
In December 2015, the Department of Biotechnology launched the National Biotechnology Development Strategy 2015–2020 programme. The stated aim of the programme is to intensify research in the fields of vaccines, humane genome, infectious and chronic diseases, crop science, animal agriculture and aquaculture, food and nutrition, environmental management and technologies for clean energy. The mission, through stakeholders in the biotechnology and technology domains is backed with significant investments to create new products, creating a strong infrastructure for research and development, commercialization, and empowering human resources scientifically and technologically. [6]
The Ministry of Science and Technology is the Indian government ministry charged with formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to science and technology in India.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is a department within the Ministry of Science and Technology in India. It was established in May 1971 to promote new areas of science and technology and to play the role of a nodal department for organising, coordinating and promoting Scientific and Technological activities in the country. It gives funds to various approved scientific projects in India. It also supports various researchers in India to attend conferences abroad and to go for experimental works.
BioInformatics National Certification (BINC) was an initiative of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government Of India in coordination with Bioinformatics Center, University of Pune, then from 2011, it was conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru University. However, from 2014 and now it is conducted by Pondicherry University. The objective of the examination is to recognize trained manpower in the area of Bioinformatics. Currently, various Indian universities, Government and private institutions are involved in imparting courses in Bioinformatics in India. However, there exists a large variation in the course contents, training period and method of training. Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, has instituted BINC examination with an objective to evaluate the Bioinformatics knowledge & skillset of the students. This professional certification would facilitate industries and potential employers in recruiting Bioinformatics professionals. The BINC examination is conducted in the first quarter of every year. Those meeting the prescribed standards in BINC are issued a certificate of proficiency in Bioinformatics. BINC has decided to award Research fellowships to BINC qualified Indian nationals to pursue Ph.D. in Indian Institutes/Universities. Note that the candidate must possess a postgraduate degree & meet the criteria of the institutes/universities in order to avail research fellowship.
The Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB) is an autonomous institution of education, training and research established under the auspices of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Department of Biotechnology. The Parliament has passed the Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016 to provide statutory status to the existing institution. Dr.Arvind Sahu is the executive director of RCB.
Maharaj Kishan Bhan was an Indian pediatrician and clinical scientist. He received M.B.B.S. Degree (1969) from Armed Forces Medical College, Pune and M.D. Degree from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. He carried out extensive post doctoral research at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the areas of diarrheal diseases and child nutrition with an emphasis on public health issues. He served as the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER).
Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860. It is also an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. It was set up in 2009 at Gurgaon and is now located in NCR Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad along with the Regional Center for Biotechnology, Advanced Technology Platforms Center, Small Animal Facility, and Bio-incubator. Envisioned by former secretary of DBT, M. K. Bhan, the centre was created to enable faster transition of lab research to market. Pramod Garg is the executive director of THSTI.
Virander Singh Chauhan is an Indian scientist and a Rhodes Scholar working in the fields of genetic engineering and biotechnology. He is known for his contributions to the development of a recombinant vaccine for malaria. and for synthetic structural peptides with biological functions. He was honored by the Government of India in 2012 with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri. He is the present Chancellor of the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management.
Biotechnology in India is a sunrise sector within the Indian economy. Agencies of the Government of India concerned with the biotechnology industry include the Department of Biotechnology and the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India. As of 2022, the sector is valued at $80 billion. Biotechnology in India is in a growth phase and the sector is expected to be valued at $150 billion by 2025 and surpass $300 billion in value by 2030.
Gagandeep Kang FRS is an Indian microbiologist and virologist who is the Professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India and from August 2016 to July 2020 was executive director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. Her major research focus is on viral infections in children, and the testing of rotaviral vaccines. She also works on other enteric infections and their consequences when children are infected in early life, sanitation and water safety. She was awarded the prestigious Infosys Prize in Life Sciences in 2016 for her contributions to understanding the natural history of rotavirus and other infectious diseases. In 2019, she became the first Indian woman to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. She was on the Life Sciences jury for the Infosys Prize in 2020.
Kanury Raoalso known as Kanury Venkata Subba Rao is an Indian immunologist. He was the head of the Drug Discovery Research Centre (DDRC) at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) Faridabad. He is known for his studies in the fields of peptide synthesis and cell signaling and the design of synthetic peptide vaccines. He is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India and the Indian National Science Academy. and a recipient of several awards including the Millennium Plaque of Honour of the Indian Science Congress and the National Bioscience Award for Career Development. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, in 1997, for his contributions to biological sciences.
Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone(AMTZ) is a medical technology park with Common Manufacturing Facilities & Common Scientific Facilities that include specialized laboratories, warehousing and testing centers such as the Center for Electromagnetic compatibility and safety testing, Center for Biomaterial Testing, Center for 3-D printing, Centers for Lasers, MRI Magnets, Gamma Irradiation, Molds, and many other industrial service centers.
Bharat B. Chattoo, a JC Bose National Fellow, was a scientist specialising in the field of Biotechnology, Genomics and Proteomics.
Tilak Raj Sharma is an Indian plant biologist, the Deputy Director General (CS) of ICAR and former executive director and chief executive officer of the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), and Center of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB) respectively, both autonomous institutes under the Department of Biotechnology. Known for his studies in the fields of genomics and plant disease resistance, Sharma is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2007.
Ganesan Venkatasubramanian is an Indian psychiatrist and clinician-scientist who works as a professor of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore (NIMHANS). His overarching research interest to learn the science that will facilitate a personalized approach to understand and treat severe mental disorders like schizophrenia. Venkatasubramanian is known for his studies in the fields of schizophrenia, transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), brain imaging, neuroimmunology, neurometabolism and several other areas of biological psychiatry. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to medical sciences in 2018. He was also one of the collaborating scientists in the NIMHANS-IOB Bioinformatics and Proteomics laboratory of the Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB) in Bangalore and NIMHANS. Besides, he is an adjunct faculty at the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) in Bangalore.
Dr. Renu Swarup is an Indian geneticist and former Secretary, Government of India, formerly heading the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology. She has actively contributed in the formulation of India's Biotechnology Vision and Strategy. She is credited with the establishment of India's largest microbial resource centre, Microbial Culture Collection.
After completing a postgraduate degree, one of the options is to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) program. These Ph.D programs cost money and time. To help a scholar there are many Research Fellowship Schemes in India funded by either a government agency or a private one. Such a scholar pursuing a Ph.D receives a monthly stipend and in some cases an annual contingency grant for 2 to 5 years.
ZyCoV-D is a DNA plasmid-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by Indian pharmaceutical company Cadila Healthcare, with support from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council. It is approved for emergency use in India.
HGC019 is a mRNA and Self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) based COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals and HDT Bio Corp. with active support from NIH under The Indo-US Vaccine Action Program (VAP) and Department of Biotechnology, India.
Genome India Project (GIP) is a research initiative led by the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science's Centre for Brain Research and involves over 20 universities across the country in an effort to gather samples, compile data, conduct research, and create an ‘Indian reference genome' grid.
Dr.Krishnarajanagar Nagappa Ganesh is an Indian Bio-Organic chemist and served as the (founding) director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati since 2017 till April 2023. He is also the founding Director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, that was established in 2006 and served the office till 2017. He is a recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in chemical sciences (1998) for "his outstanding contribution towards the understanding of the chemical principles of DNA molecular recognition and for his work on various facets of DNA structure and its interaction with drugs and proteins". He is also a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy since 2000.
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