Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a public sector undertaking of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) organised a two-day Innovators Conclave and Bio-Innovation Fair at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

The theme for the conclave was BIRAC Bio-Innovations: Propelling the Bio-economy, and was inaugurated by Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, and attended by Guest of Honour, YS Chowdary, Minister of State (MoS), Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.

The Conclave brought together nearly 300 innovators and startups, scientists from industry and academia, public and private sector, policy makers, and national and international organisations.

BIRAC has provided financial and mentoring support to more than 500 companies, and nearly 500 young entrepreneurs and startups. BIRAC's partnership network includes more than 15 implementing agencies both national and international, nearly 700 national experts from academia, industry, public and private research laboratories, donor agencies and other government departments that can contribute towards building the innovation ecosystem of India.

The conclave was host to a bio-innovation fair and an innovation market place and featured a number of key panel discussions including "The Startup Conversation: Gaps, Opportunities and the way forward" featuring venture capitalists and angel investors and a discussion on "Pathways to create impact through Biotech Innovations to the power of Infinity" featuring decision-makers and experts.

"BIRAC has transformed the biotech innovation ecosystem in the country. Our investments in the Indian innovation ecosystem are bearing fruit and our innovations are now showing real impact and producing tangible benefits for society. This Innovation Fair is the perfect occasion for us to showcase what our up and coming investigators are working on and how they hope to transform India. This fair also gives us the opportunity to showcase the potential for scale-up of these innovations to relevant stakeholders and decision-makers," said Dr. Renu Swarup, Senior Advisor, DBT and Managing Director, BIRAC.