Biotech Industry Driving both Human and Animal Nutrition

Syllabus: GS3/Biotechnology

Context

• Biotechnology has emerged as a transformative force in agriculture, aquaculture, and animal sciences. 

What is Bioeconomy?

• The bioeconomy is the use of renewable biological resources to produce food, energy and industrial goods, which supports sustainability and economic growth. 
• Innovations like gene editing and bioprinting are driving progress, while integration across sectors strengthens long-term impact.
  • By aligning biotechnology with digital tools and circular economy principles, the bioeconomy offers sustainable solutions to environmental challenges and promotes overall societal well-being.

India’s Bioeconomy

• India is among the Top 12 destinations for biotechnology worldwide and 3rd largest destination for biotechnology in Asia Pacific. 
• India’s bioeconomy has grown sixteen-fold from $10 billion in 2014 to an impressive $165.7 billion in 2024. 
• Contributing 4.25% to the national GDP, the sector has demonstrated a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.9% over the past four years. 
• India’s Biotechnology sector is categorised into Biopharmaceuticals, Bio agriculture, Bio IT and Bio Services.
• Future Goals: Target of achieving a $300 billion bioeconomy by 2030.
  • India also seeks to lead globally in bio-pharma, including vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. 

Concerns

• Fragmentation of Infrastructure: India hosts over 70 incubators, but few have end-to-end facilities such as pilot-scale purification systems, fill-and-finish suites, regulatory affairs support.
  • This forces entrepreneurs to operate across cities, duplicating costs and processes.
• Regulatory Complexities: Outdated frameworks for clinical trials, patent laws and product approval.
• Lag behind modern demands (AI, biologics, genomics), delaying market entry and deterring investment.

Use Biotechnology in Agriculture 

• The Department of Biotechnology’s Agriculture Biotechnology programme supports innovative biotechnological research for achieving sustainable agriculture by leveraging the latest advances in technologies. 
• The main achievements include:

• Climate-Smart Crops: A New Superior Climate Smart Drought Tolerant High-Yielding Chickpea Variety “SAATVIK (NC 9)” with enhanced yield under drought stress was notified recently.
• Genome-Edited Crops: Genome editing was employed to generate loss of function mutations in several rice genes that negatively regulate crop productivity. 
• Amaranth Genetic Resources: The department of biotechnology has developed an Amaranth Genomic Resource Database, Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) techniques for screening nutritional qualities of amaranth grain, and a 64K SNP chip.
  • Amaranth accessions screened using the above resources have been shown to counteract high fat diet induced obesity.
• Fungal Biocontrol: A stable fungal enzyme nano-formulation from Myrothecium verrucaria has been developed for eco-friendly biocontrol of powdery mildew in tomato and grape.
• Kisan-Kavach: It is an anti-pesticide suit designed to combat the pervasive threat of pesticide-induced toxicity in agricultural settings. 

Animal Biotechnology

• India is the largest animal husbandry sector in the world with the largest livestock population to support the livelihoods of more than two-thirds of the rural population.

Aquaculture and Marine Biotechnology

• The Aquaculture and Marine Biotechnology program has been implemented with the goal of enhancing both aquaculture production and productivity. 
• Shrimp Diet: Due to its high cost and sustainability issues, replacement of fish meal is an important area of research in aquaculture nutrition. 
• CIFA-Brood-Vac: A novel vaccine has been developed to prevent mortality in fish spawn, securing aquaculture stock health.
  • A user-friendly software, Interactive Fish Feed Designer (IFFD) version 2, has been developed for the formulation of cost-effective fish feed with non-conventional ingredients.

Conclusion

• The integration of biotechnology into agriculture, aquaculture, and animal sciences is fostering sustainable food production, disease resistance, and enhanced productivity. 
• These innovations, backed by research and commercialization efforts, are paving the way for a resilient and efficient agricultural ecosystem. 

Source: TH