The three-day BIB 2016 is scheduled for February 9-11, 2016, at Hotel Lalit Ashok, in Bangalore.

The theme for this most-anticipated upcoming biotech event has been identified as, ''What's Trending in Biotech India'.

In her address, Dr Kiran spoke about the happening trends in the biotech space.

"BIB 2016 is going to be very exciting and encouraging because of the trends that we are seeing in the biotech. Trends, not just in our country, but worldwide. In India, it is very clear that biotechnology now is a rapidly growing sector. Through the 'Make-in-India' campaign, India is beginning to focus on biopharmaceuticals, vaccines and medical device areas which are becoming trend setters," she pointed.

She believes that India will play an important role in biotechnology.

"There are big opportunities in the start-ups space. Bangalore is certainly becoming very-well recognized world over as a start-up hub," added Dr Kiran.

Dr Kiran mentioned Genomics as one of the biggest trends in the biotech space.

She commented, "Many companies in the Genomics and BioIT space have started gaining traction. They started in and hesitant way. However, they are making big strides today. Given Bangalore's IT prowess, Genomics and BioIT is going to be a big trend setter that we need to be watching out."

Dr Kiran named a few companies which are making strides in the Genomics and BioIT space, including, Mapmygenome, Bigtec Labs, Ganit Labs and Genotypic Technology.

The second trend she voiced, pointed to the area of biosimilars.

"India is the pharmacy of the world, and it has a large space in generics. We want to emulate this success in biosimilars as well. What we need to do to be successful in the biosimilars sector is ensure that we grow this ecosystem in terms of scientists and clinicians, and everyone needed including engineers, geneticists, and microbiologists, and create a large ecosystem. Both, biomanufacturing and biosimilars, are big opportunities for India," she opined.

She also feels that Vaccines can be another big area for India. "India is already playing a leadership role in vaccines, and will continue to forge ahead," she said.

Dr Kiran emphasized about India's opportunities in the Ayurveda space. "Ayurveda should open up more in India. We have not leveraged the treasure trove of Ayurveda in this country. We should look at our own knowledge, and that could be a big trend. We must create that trend from India," she encouraged.

Moving towards agri-biotech, she stated, "We are the largest producers of Bt Cotton seeds, but haven't gone beyond that. For many years, our efforts in agri-biotech has been thwarted by narrow-minded and unscientific decisions. Agri-biotech is not just about recombinant technology. It is about understanding molecular markers, enhancing productivity, and design hybrids better, with an aim of addressing food security."

She shared the importance of creating a trend in sustainable development through biotech.

"Biotech in waste management has big opportunities. Renewable energies is another area where biotech has a huge role to play. Veterinary Sciences also presents exciting opportunities which leverages biotech, thereby enhancing and improving veterinary sector in a new way," she revealed.

She further added, "These are not just opportunities to catch-up with the global trends, but to create new trends from our own nation.

Dr Kiran also made references to Gene- and Proteomics-based strategies to study diseases and disease markers, as happening trends in biotech.

She concluded by saying, "There are lot of opportunities in diagnostics. Every company today is looking at developing companion diagnostics. Precision medicine is another big trend in the world and it depends a lot on diagnostics. These are the trends we need to catch-up with and trends we need to set."

Ms V Manjula, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of IT, BT and S&C, Government of Karnataka, also addressed the delegates.

"The Karnataka's biotech policy has been updated from time-to-time. During BIB 2016, we'll further update the policy in tune with the requirements of the sector," she remarked.

The Government of Karnataka has come up with a bioventure fund worth Rs 50 crore in collaboration with VC firms.

Karnataka will invest Rs 13 crore, and the rest will be open for VCs investments.

The Government of Karnataka is also setting up incubation centers for biotech start-ups in partnership with Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI, Mysore), University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS, Dharwad) and University of Veterinary Sciences at Bidar.