Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Govt of India and Chairperson BIRAC officially announced the launch of the fifth edition of the National Bio Entrepreneurship Competition (NBEC) on 16 August.

The competition now in its fifth year is a nationwide search for exceptional ideas in the life sciences domain with potential for both social impact and commercial success.  

NBEC is held by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms - C-CAMP every year to attract, identify and nurture deep science-driven business ideas that break new ground in addressing societal challenges.

Conducted as a part of BREC – the BIRAC Regional Entrepreneurship Centre, established at C-CAMP in partnership with BIRAC, NBEC 2021 has in store an unprecedented Rs 8.5 crore in cash prizes and investment opportunities this year for winners. 30+ industry and investment partners have come forward to encourage and support bio-entrepreneurship in India through this competition. 

Along with Dr Swarup, Dr Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon, Anju Bhalla, Joint Secretary (A), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and MD, BIRAC and Dr Manish Diwan, Head, SPED, BIRAC formally released the competition poster and opened the call for applications. The fifth edition has been joined by 33 national and international industry and investment partners.