BT Parks - North

Uttarakhand

Biotech Policy

The State Government believes that the newly established state of Uttarakhand would benefit greatly from the direct intervention of biotechnological research, know how and associated tools for the sustainable development of the state and its economic upliftment in tandem with the preservation of its fragile but unique ecosystems, environment and the rich biodiversity. The areas which may be greatly (and positively) impacted by such applications/innovations and research are very wide ranging and may include diverse fields such as agriculture, floriculture and horticulture, medicinal & aromatic plants and forestry sector, soil fertility management, microbial products, traditional fermented foods and beverages, vaccine production, animal health including reproduction & nutrition, aquaculture, human health and welfare including balanced nutrition, as well as gene pool conservation and utilization, IPR related issues and the cleaner environment, to name a few..

Uttarakhand is a new state and has inherent strength in various fields of biotechnology and the objectives of the policy are to make Uttarakhand a front ranking State in the field of Biotechnology. To attain this overall goal, the objectives of the policy would be –

• To map the rich Biodiversity of the state, including landraces and lesser known crops and create exhaustive/extensive data base to enable ex situ & in situ conservation, scientific management and prevent reckless exploitation.

• To intensify the R & D work in potential areas of Biotechnology and upgrade the infrastructure of R & D institutions to generate quality research and to foster industry linkages.

• To promote the human resource development in this field through upgradation of the existing as well as and setting up of new educational institutions.

• In the realm of plant biotechnology, leverage on the existing knowledge base to promote research, which meets the needs of Indian farmers becoming competitive and enable them to take advantage of what are today closely held technologies.

• To promote medicinal and aromatic plants/herbs of which abundance is found in Uttarakhand to enable their natural growth as well as scientific promotion of the pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and such other industries. To encourage the entire spectrum from low-end industries which are capable of going to the farmers field to the highest end.

• To spread awareness about the investment opportunities, in Biotechnology and allied sectors, in the state of Uttarakhand.

• To this end, proactively promote setting up of biotechnology industries in the State whether in a industrial Estate mode or dispersed in smaller pockets throughout the State, and to outline a set of incentives and concessions for the Bt industry to attract investment..

• To provide a suitable institutional framework which is a mix of the best available talents, with proactive Governmental support and facilitation.

The detailed road map

• In the pre-;launch allotment, 50 acres of land had been earmarked for this purpose. The remaining 450 acres of land in the Bio-IT Park was planned to be developed through a Developer.

• SIDCUL has finalized lease deed with the following 10 Biotech Units. A few companies have already started construction work in the B.T. Park.

• Applications of the following BT/IT companies are under consideration of SIDCUL for allotment of land in the BT/IT Park:

1. Vaishnavi Biotech

2. Venkteshwari Hatcheries

3. Vedalife

4. Anil Kumar

5. Genetic Biotech Asia

6. Shukla Infotech

7. Biotech and Food Syste

8. Sakuntala Software Pvt. Ltd.

• Construction of C.E.M.B.(Center of Excellence in Mountain Biology) Building ; its Laboratory Block, Seminar Hall and Library completed. The initial proposed work plan of CEMB is in four major areas, namely medicinal plants, DNA finger printing, plant tissue culture and fermented foods & beverages, both in terms of R & D as well as a service provider for the State of Uttarakhand.

• An updated version about the State Biotechnology Programme was loaded on the NIC server located in the Secretariat Building at Dehradun.