Bangalore India Bio 2015, India’s most sought after and premier biotech forum, concluded on an upbeat note with progressive outcomes for the biotech fraternity.  The three-day conference from February 9 to 11 brought together global leaders from the Life Sciences, Biotechnology and AgriBiotech sectors for a comprehensive overview of this rapidly changing industry envisaging India as a US$ 100 billion Biotech Hub. The event is jointly organized by the Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka, Vision Group on Biotechnology, MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications.

The Crystal Edition  had the presence of   Karnataka chief  minister  Siddaramaiah; Union minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Praksh Javadekar; Union minister of State for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal; Karnataka Minister for IT, BT and S&T and Planning & Statistics,  S.R. Patil; UK Trade & Investment Chief Executive Dominic Jermey; and Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, World Food Prize Laureate 2014 along with  Prof K. VijayRaghavan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology and (Additional Charge), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India; Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson, Karnataka Vision Group on Biotechnology and Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon Limited.

According to Srivatsa Krishna, Secretary, Karnataka  Department of IT, BT and S&T and DPAR (e-Governance) Government of Karnataka, “the event is  not only a forum for the best minds in the industry to come together to create a sustainable future in Biotechnology, Life Science & Agri Biotech, but a dais for several start-ups, emerging business and student enabling access to the industry stalwarts.

“Bangalore INDIA BIO is a unique interactive platform for business and science. Over the years, Bengaluru has emerged as a hub of biotech and has shown huge promises for the start-ups as well. The industry needs to focus on innovation to accelerate growth, which is being well supported by the growing number of start-ups. Karnataka State Government has been the aegis for this sector fostering a steady growth-rate.” says Shaw.

“The importance of generating green and renewable energy is paramount and Biotech has a very important role to play regarding the same,” says Union Minister Prakash Javadekar.

“We should also focus on the necessity of adopting Energy Efficiency Measures and developing Preventive Healthcare. Biotech & Life Sciences have a crucial role to play regarding the same, says Union minister Piyush Goyal.

 “Bengaluru  has a conducive environment for start-ups. Though we have challenges regarding investor’s reluctance and regulatory Government policies we are seeing positive growth”, noted Dr. K. VijayRaghavan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology.

Sharing his knowledge at the inauguration session, Dr. Sanjay Rajaram, World Food Prize Laureate 2014, says " Conservation agriculture including organic farming may reduce the use of water and chemicals and replacing the inefficient irrigation system with more precise methods like subsurface drip irrigation has to be the priority.”