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Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh today said that the 21st century will be India’s century and will be driven by a biology-led economy, with the country’s bio-economy projected to grow to $1 trillion by 2047. Addressing an international conference at IIT Roorkee virtually, he said India is moving decisively towards full-spectrum technological capability, from gene to qubit, from ocean depths to outer space, supported by policy reforms, strong institutional frameworks and a rapidly expanding innovation ecosystem. Highlighting the government’s policy thrust, the Minister spoke about the BioE3 Policy (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) approved in 2024, describing it as a defining step towards bio-manufacturing-led growth. He said India’s bio-economy has expanded from $10 billion in 2014 to over $165 billion today, growing at nearly 18% annually, with a target of $300 billion by 2030. The number of biotech startups has increased from around 50 to more than 11,000. He also referred to the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) with a Rs 50,000 crore corpus and the Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, designed to provide long-term, low-cost financing for deep-tech innovation.
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