Dr. Swati Piramal, executive director, Nicholas Piramal India, has been appointed as a member of the newly constituted Maharashtra Biotechnology Commission. The Commission, constituted under the chairmanship of Dr. R. A. Mashelkar, director general, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and Secretary to the Government of India, has been given the mandate of implementing the Maharashtra Bio-technology Policy 2001. The Policy was notified by the Government in January 2002 and is aimed at promoting Biotech industries in the state.

A medical doctor from the University of Bombay, Dr. Swati Piramal graduated with a masters degree from the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA. Dr. Piramal recently took the lead to set up the Mahabioyatra – networking forum for Maharashtra's Bioscience community.

Mahabioyatra is a partnership between the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Government of Maharashtra to bring together the corporate sector, researchers and scientists in biotechnology to exchange ideas, share opportunities and develop potential business partnerships.