The Union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Bio-e3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Employment and Environment) policy to foster high-performance bio-manufacturing. The policy is a push towards a greener, less consumptive and a self-reliant India and aims to use global challenges such as climate change, unsustainable pattern of material consumption and waste generation as drivers to bring about sustainable innovations.
One of the primary aims of the initiative taken by the department of biotechnology is to stimulate the transition of chemical-based industries to a more sustainable bio-based industrial models by promoting circular economy. The policy focuses on six key sectoral pillars: high value bio-based chemicals, bio-polymers and enzymes, smart proteins and functional foods, precision bio-therapeutics, climate resilient agriculture, carbon capture and its utilization, marine and space research.
Other key aspects of the Bio-e3 policy include innovation-driven research and development and entrepreneurship across various thematic sectors to expedite the commercialization of technology through establishment of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry and bio-AI hubs. In the interim budget presented before the elections, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had mentioned "a new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry to provide environment-friendly alternatives such as biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, bio-pharmaceutical and bio agri-inputs”.
While releasing the policy today, Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh said that the future economy of the world is largely going to be bio-driven and India has the opportunity to take the lead in the bio revolution of the 21st century. “Just as the IT-driven industrial revolution of the 1990s was led by the West, India can lead the next bio-driven revolution because it stands at an advantageous position not enjoyed by the West as far as the bio-resources and bio-economy is concerned,” he said.
“If we are able to move as envisaged and the successive generations carry it forward with the same vigor, we would be reaping the benefits both domestically and globally,” the minister said, adding, “Domestically, as the name suggests, it will benefit the three important sectors – economy, environment and employment”. The minister said that the bio-revolution could immensely contribute to India's growing bio-economy that has grown 13 folds from $10 billion in 2014 to over $130 billion in 2024 and will impact all aspects of life including food, energy and health.
The minister added that the Indian peninsula has unlimited bio-resources that remain unexplored or under-explored. “No government has given this sector a priority and I must thank the Prime Minister for his futuristic vision and allowing us venture into unknown domains,” he said.
Dr Singh also emphasized the paradigmatic shift the world would witness when the global economies will stop depending on the manufacturing sector and would rely more on the recycling processes. “The future economies will depend on what you are wasting and properly recycling it to become domestically much more independent,” he said, adding that the Bio-e3 policy aligns with government’s initiatives of ‘Green Growth’, ‘Net Zero’ economy, ‘Lifestyle for the Environment’, Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat. “I am sure that this initiative will proudly contribute as the bio-vision aspect in the Vision 2047.”