The 15th edition of the Bangalore India Bio kicked off here today with Karnataka government reaffirming its support to the biotechnology sector.

Inaugurating the three-day event, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said that the state would go all out to ensure that the biotech sector would be a priority to drive growth. Having a presence of over 52 per cent of the country’s biotech industry, Karnataka was home to five of the top ten companies and accounted for 26 per cent of the export revenues.

All efforts would be made to ensure encouraging investments in the sector. With synthetic biotechnology viewed as an emerging sector, the state has set up the Bio Molecular Engineering facility and the Bangalore Bio Innovation Centre within the campus of Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), he said.

Bengaluru is also the start-up capital of the India and there was an urgent need to boost the small entrepreneurs who are brimming with ideas. A dedicated facility like the Bangalore Bio Innovation Centre would enable  proof-of-concept studies among others.

The country’s biotechnology sector was valued at $6 billion in 2014-2015 clocking a 20-22 per cent growth rate. The target envisioned for 2020 is $100 billion.  In order to grow and sustain the growth prospects, the state government would ensure a conducive industrial-friendly environment  to attract  investment .

Also present on the occasion were Union Minister of  State environment, forests and climate change Prakash Javedekar and Minister of state for power, coal, new and renewable energy environment, Piyush Goyal, who highlighted the importance of safe, sustainable practices to save the environment and use of innovative environmental friendly buildings to save power .

The three-day event being held from February 9-11, 2015 is organized by the department of information technology, biotechnology and science and technology along with the Vision Group of Karantaka. This edition has 22 conference sessions, 110 impact speakers, over 3,000 business visitors and 15 international delegations.