Union Minister of State for Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh has said that India’s bio-economy has grown eight times in the last eight years from $10 billion in 2014 to over $80 billion in 2022.
Dr Jitendra Singh Singh was addressing the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Biosciences and Chemical Technology in Shri Mata Vaishnodevi University, Katra, on Saturday. In his address, he said biotech start-ups have grown 100 times in the last eight years from around 52 to over 5,300. He said, a total of 1,128 biotech start-ups were set up in 2021 alone, indicating the rapid growth of the sector in the country. The Union Minister underlined that from a paltry investment of Rs. 10 crore in bio-economy in 2014, the fund growth saw 400 times hike to Rs. 4,200 crore in 2022, creating over 25,000 high-skilled jobs.
Fourteen international participants, including the USA, Greece, South Korea, Scotland, Singapore, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia, and Vietnam, are part of the conference being organized by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, School of Biotechnology in collaboration with CSIR-IIIM Jammu and The Biotech Research Society of India. The conference, from 3-5 December 2022, also has 24 National keynote and invited speakers and around 300 participants from almost every state of India who are presenting their work in the form of oral and poster presentations.
