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Biotech enterprises zone mooted in TN

Our Bureau

CHENNAI, Aug. 10

A HIGH-POWER committee, constituted to frame a biotechnology policy for Tamil Nadu, has suggested creating biotechnology enterprise zones, setting up a venture capital fund for biotechnology, and constituting a body to provide policy inputs.

The committee, headed by Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, agriculture scientist, on Thursday presented its recommendations to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi. The committee felt that the State should pursue opportunities in medical biotechnology, human and animal health care, agriculture/food biotechnology, environment biotechnology, and industrial biotechnology.

According to an official press release, the committee recommended constituting a Tamil Nadu Biotechnology Board (TNBB), which will provide policy inputs, and technical and financial support for the growth of biotechnological enterprises.

The board may set up standing advisory committees on medical, food and agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnologies, and on bio-informatics and genomics. The board should also ensure that biotechnological development in the State takes plac e on environmentally-sound lines based on Programme 16 of Agenda 21 of the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The board should also promote the adoption of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards.

According to the release, the committee recommended that the Government immediately establish three biotechnology enterprise zones or bio-valleys in Mahabalipuram-Kalpakkam area, Mandapam-Tuticorin area and Madurai-Kodaikanal area. The necessary infrastr ucture will have to be developed in these bio-valleys.

The following biotechnology parks could be the hubs in these bio-valleys: A biotechnology incubator park may be established in the bio-valley near Chennai; the golden jubilee women's biotechnology park now coming up at Kelambakkam may be brought into ope ration soon; a marine biotechnology park may be established in the Mandapam area taking advantage of the rich coastal and marine resources of the State; a medicinal plant biotechnology park may be established in the Madurai-Kodaikanal area for promoting the growth of the medicinal plant industry; a bio-informatics and genomics centre may be set up, preferably in the Tidel Park in Chennai, to provide services to the biotechnology enterprises within the bio-valleys.

In addition, a State-level bioresources inventory may be compiled and maintained at the bio-informatics centre with support from the National Bioresources Board.

The committee also recommended that appropriate linkages with the existing biotechnology parks in other countries, particularly in the US, may be developed. This will help accelerate progress in setting up the biotechnology incubator park.

The members of the committee are Dr. S. Ramachandran, Dr. M.D. Nair, Dr. S. Chandrasekhar, Dr. K. Dharmalingam, Dr. P. Kaliraj, Dr. Joseph Thomas, Dr. Kunthala Jayaraman, Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Tamil Nadu Industries Secretary, and Mr. R. Gopalan, Chairman and Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation.

The committee felt that human resource development needs to be strengthened both at the professional and technical levels. The existing universities and institutions in the State may be provided with appropriate support and brought into an interactive ne twork thereby establishing a biotechnology corridor.

The committee suggested setting up a venture capital fund for biotechnology with an initial corpus of Rs. 30 crores. It is estimated that the total investment needed to implement the different initiatives may be about Rs. 100 crores during the next three years.

To implement these proposals in a commercially-viable manner, the committee suggested that small groups may be set up to prepare business plans with a detailed break-up of cost, risk and return.