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Other applications
• Energy/Environment: Bioethanol and biodiesel;
• Biodiversity conservation: Conservation of endangered species using cloning
• Food and beverage: Food products manufactured industrially →fermentation. Examples -wine,
yoghurt;
• Wastewater management: Complex organic and Nitrogenous waste - degraded – Bacteria, virus,
fungi.
• Mining: bacteria work on the particular metallic compounds; E.g. extraction of copper, lead;
• Synthesis of enzymes: used in various processes →Stains removing, fabrics offering, digestible food
preparation, meat processing, and cancer treatment.
• Plant tissue culture: growing tissues of plants in the sterile conditions; producing new plants;
• Degradation of pesticides: Bacteria species, genetically created → pseudomonas sp., flavobacterium,
azotobacter etc. degrade different pesticide.
• Industrial application: Production of stain remover, detergents, bread, biotic polisher, vitamins, stone
washed denims, bleached paper.
1.4 Challenges
• Ethical Issues: potential for ecological harm, access to new drugs and treatments, and the idea of
interfering with nature, designer babies and playing god;
• Affordability : High cost of healthcare; A common pill costing approximately $1,825 per annum;
biotech drug costing $20,000 per year price tag or something costlier.
• Privacy: Protecting patient privacy → technology advances - decipher human genome.
• GM food adoption: not adopted widely→ not affordable to the farmers, terminator seeds, market
monopoly;
• Risk: Long gestation period: in R&D; Long, tedious and strict regulatory norms → high expenses in
developing drugs; e.g. 36% of drugs fail to make it past the preliminary stage of drug development.
• Bioweapons: R&D leading to deadly viruses E.g. suspected Covid-19
• Bioterrorism: biological toxins and infectious organisms could be used to attack E.g. Anthrax
• Bio-piracy: Use of bio-resources by MNC’s without proper authorization from the countries and
people concerned without compensatory payment.
• Other Challenges: Patents and patent waivers;
1.5 Government initiatives
• Department of biotechnology (DBT), established in 1986.
o Acts as central agency → R&D, policy advice and formulation, human resource, promoting
international cooperation and manufacturing activities.
• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) → established under the DBT, 2012
o Objective – bring innovators and funders on to a common table, enabling ideas to become a
reality.
• National Biotechnology Development Strategy 2015-2020: 1500 cr over 5 years;
• National Biopharma mission: Industry academia collaboration for accelerating biopharmaceutical
development;
• Make in India: Biotechnology sector → champion sector under make-in-India program.
• Start-up India: Aim – to establish 2,700 biotech start-ups; expected to touch the 10,000-mark by 2024.
• Union Budget 2021-22, the government outlaid Rs. 1,660 crore (US$ 227.94 million) for biotechnology
research and development.
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