Health Talk | Biomanufacturing in India: Pioneering sustainable solutions for the future

In years to come, biomanufacturing will be the key to sustainable living, and will have a significant role to play in the health care sector.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently approved the continuation of the two umbrella schemes of department of biotechnology (DBT), merged into one scheme-‘Biotechnology Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (Bio-RIDE),’ with a new component, namely biomanufacturing and biofoundry.

Biomanufacturing is the use of cells or other living microorganisms to make commercially viable products such as fuels, chemicals, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov (REUTERS)

According to the government statement, the scheme aims to foster innovation, promote bio-entrepreneurship, and strengthen India’s position as a global leader in biomanufacturing and biotechnology. It aims to accelerate research, enhance product development, and bridge the gap between academic research and industrial applications.

Biomanufacturing is the use of cells or other living microorganisms to make commercially viable products such as fuels, chemicals, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals.

With the proposed outlay of ₹9197 crore for implementation, the government’s scheme has three broad components: biotechnology research and development (R&D); industrial and entrepreneurship development (I&ED); and biomanufacturing and biofoundry.

It will promote bio-entrepreneurship by nurturing an ecosystem for startups by providing seed funding, incubation support, and mentorship to bio-entrepreneurs. The advanced innovation scheme will offer grants and incentives for cutting-edge research and development in areas like synthetic biology, biopharmaceuticals, bioenergy, and bioplastics. The facilitated industry-academia collaboration will create synergies between academic institutions, research organisations, and industry to accelerate the commercialisation of bio-based products and technologies.

In years to come, biomanufacturing will be the key to sustainable living, and will have a significant role to play in the health care sector.

The focus on biomanufacturing is to facilitate the development of indigenous innovative solutions to improve healthcare outcomes, enhance agriculture productivity, foster growth of the bioeconomy, scale-up and commercialisation of bio-based products, expand India’s cohort of highly skilled workforce, and intensify entrepreneurial momentum.

During the launch of the Centre’s Bio-e3 policy that aims to promote high-performance biomanufacturing in the country, Rajesh Gokhale, secretary, department of biotechnology, explained the need for investing in biomanufacturing in future. "Biology will build the next technology revolution— the food will change, the water will change, the ways of energy will change, and the environment, plants, and animals, everything is going to change in future," Gokhale said.

“The challenges before us include climate change, unsustainable material consumption, and waste generation. There is no end-of-life cycle assessment done for the materials that we are consuming in bulk. Talking of clothes, for example, clothes were a necessity earlier but now clothes have become a commodity. Waste generation is becoming a huge problem, as the material world is enhancing. The bio revolution will also have to look at creating bio cloth that has recyclability if we want to solve this problem,” he added.

Biomanufacturing could play a vital role in addressing the huge plastic pollution crisis, that India and the world are dealing with. “The biomanufacturing will empower us to reimagine the future,” Gokhale said.

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