New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugrated the Biotech Startup Expo - 2022 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. During his address, he said that the country's inaugural Biotech Startup Expo is a reflection of "the expansive growth of the biotech sector in the country," news agency ANI reported.
"India's bio-economy has grown eight times in the last eight years. India is not too far from joining the league of top ten countries in the biotech global ecosystem," PM Modi added.
Highlighting country's biotech sector, PM Modi said, "India is being considered the land of opportunities in the biotech sector. Mainly 5 reasons - a diverse population, diverse climatic zones, talented human capital pool, efforts towards ease of doing business & demand of bio products- are responsible for it."
"In the last 8 years, the number of start-ups in our country has increased from a few hundred to 70,000 in about 60 different industries. More than 5,000 start-ups are associated with the biotech sector," PM Modi further stated.
Speaking about AatmaNirbhar Bharat, PM Modi said, "Biotech Startup Expo 2022 will strengthen 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' movement in this sector."
Along with PM Modi, Union Ministers Dr Jitendra Singh, Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan also attended the Biotech Startup Expo.
The theme of the expo is 'Biotech Startup Innovations: Towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat.'
The Department of Biotechnology and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council are hosting the event. It is being hosted to commemorate BIRAC's ten-year anniversary of its founding.
The Expo will feature over 300 stalls showcasing biotechnology applications in disciplines such as healthcare, genomics, biopharma, agriculture, industrial biotechnology, waste-to-value, and clean energy, among others.
A panel discussion on the rise of the bio-economy is also scheduled to be held on the first day of the exhibition.
After that, there will be a meeting with stakeholders for consultation. Later on, the expo will be accessible to the public for open house encounters and networking sessions. On the second day, there will be a Start-up Pitching session.
(With ANI Inputs)