Ghose T K, Bisaria V S
Department of Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India.
Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 2000;69:87-124. doi: 10.1007/3-540-44964-7_4.
India has embarked upon a very ambitious program in biotechnology with a view to harnessing its available human and unlimited biodiversity resources. It has mainly been a government sponsored effort with very little private industry participation in investment. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) established under the Ministry of Science and Technology in 1986 was the major instrument of action to bring together most talents, material resources, and budgetary provisions. It began sponsoring research in molecular biology, agricultural and medical sciences, plant and animal tissue culture, biofertilizers and biopesticides, environment, human genetics, microbial technology, and bioprocess engineering, etc. The establishment of a number of world class bioscience research institutes and provision of large research grants to some existing universities helped in developing specialized centres of biotechnology. Besides DBT, the Department of Science & Technology (DST), also under the Ministry of S&T, sponsors research at universities working in the basic areas of life sciences. Ministry of Education's most pioneering effort was instrumental in the creation of Biochemical Engineering Research Centre at IIT Delhi with substantial assistance from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland to make available state-of-the-art infrastructure for education, training, and research in biochemical engineering and biotechnology in 1974. This initiative catalysed biotechnology training and research at many institutions a few years later. With a brief introduction, the major thrust areas of biotechnology development in India have been reviewed in this India Paper which include education and training, agricultural biotechnology, biofertilizers and biopesticides, tissue culture for tree and woody species, medicinal and aromatic plants, biodiversity conservation and environment, vaccine development, animal, aquaculture, seri and food biotechnology, microbial technology, industrial biotechnology, biochemical engineering and associated activities such as creation of biotechnology information system and national repositories. Current status of intellectual property rights has also been discussed. Contribution to the India's advances in biotechnology by the industry, excepting a limited few, has been far below expectations. The review concludes with some cautious notes.
印度已启动一项雄心勃勃的生物技术计划，旨在利用其现有的人力资源和无限的生物多样性资源。这主要是一项政府资助的工作，很少有私营企业参与投资。1986年在科学技术部下设立的生物技术部（DBT）是汇聚大多数人才、物质资源和预算拨款的主要行动工具。它开始资助分子生物学、农业和医学科学、植物和动物组织培养、生物肥料和生物农药、环境、人类遗传学、微生物技术以及生物过程工程等领域的研究。一些世界级生物科学研究机构的建立以及向一些现有大学提供大量研究资助，有助于发展生物技术专业中心。除了生物技术部，同样隶属于科学技术部的科学技术部（DST）也资助在生命科学基础领域开展工作的大学进行研究。教育部最具开创性的努力促成了1974年在印度理工学院德里分校创建生物化学工程研究中心，该中心在瑞士苏黎世联邦理工学院的大力协助下，提供了用于生物化学工程和生物技术教育、培训及研究的先进基础设施。几年后，这一举措推动了许多机构的生物技术培训和研究。在这篇印度专题论文中，在简要介绍之后，对印度生物技术发展的主要重点领域进行了综述，其中包括教育与培训、农业生物技术、生物肥料和生物农药、树木和木本植物的组织培养、药用和芳香植物、生物多样性保护与环境、疫苗开发、动物、水产养殖、丝绸和食品生物技术、微生物技术、工业生物技术、生物化学工程以及相关活动，如创建生物技术信息系统和国家储存库等。还讨论了知识产权的现状。除了少数几家企业外，行业对印度生物技术进步的贡献远低于预期。综述最后提出了一些谨慎的看法。
