The Minister of Science & Technology recently inaugurated the 17th Annual International Biocuration Conference (AIBC-2024) in Faridabad, Haryana and launched some initiatives.
Key Highlights of 17th Annual International Biocuration Conference (AIBC-2024):
- It was organized by Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC), Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad, and Department of Plant Molecular Biology, Delhi University.
- It is the first-ever Biocuration conference in India, which is conducted by the International Society for Biocuration, a non-profit organization.
About Biocuration:
- Biocuration involves the translation and integration of information relevant to biology into a database or resource.
- It enables integration of the scientific literature as well as large data sets.
- Accurate and comprehensive representation of biological knowledge, and easy access to data for working scientists, form a basis for computational analysis.
- The goals of biocuration are achieved through convergent endeavors of biocurators, software developers, and researchers in bioinformatics.
- Biocurators provide essential resources to the biological community such that databases have become an integral part of the tools researchers use daily for their work.
New launches under Ministry of Science & Technology:
- The ICE-Integrated Computing Environment which is a cloud-based computational facility for life science researchers was launched.
- ICE is a dedicated Supercomputing environment accessible across India and aims to build a cloud environment for storing, retrieving and analyzing genomic data.
- Biomanufacturing and Bio-foundry will drive India’s future bioeconomy and promote “Green Growth” and enable design, build, test, and learn (DBTL) cycle.
- A Bio Foundry is an integrated facility that combines biological, chemical biology, and engineering biology systems and tools with modern analysis tools.
- Biomanufacturing is the use of biological systems that have been engineered, or that are used outside their natural context, to produce a product.
- As biotechnology research and Bio Start Ups are prioritized, this scheme could transform today’s consumptive manufacturing, into one based on regenerative principles.
- 3 data Submission portals were introduced for biotech-related research.
- These include Indian Nucleotide Data Archive- Controlled Access (INDA-CA) portal, Indian Crop Phenome Database Portal, and Indian Metabolome Data Archive Portal.
- India is making its 1st ever vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which will be administered to all school-going adolescent girls to prevent cervical cancer.
Scope of Biotechnology Research for India:
- India’s bio-economy has grown 13-fold from $10 billion in 2014 to over $130 billion in 2024.
- Bio-economy refers to economic activities that use biotechnologies to produce value, like vaccines, diagnostics, bioethanol, bioplastics, genetically modified crops.
- It is now being rated among the top 12 biotechnology destinations in the world.
- India has reached nearly 6,000 bio-startups from 50 in the past 10 years.
- Environment-friendly alternatives like biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, bio-pharmaceuticals, and bio-agri-inputs can supplement Bio-Start-Ups and bio-economy.
- India developed the 1st ever DNA- Vaccine for COVID-19, which is acknowledged globally as India is hailed as a global leader in Preventive Healthcare.
- India has a huge wealth of bioresources, in form of unsaturated resources and an advantage in Biotechnology especially due to the vast biodiversity and unique Himalayan bioresources.
- A vast coastline (7,500 km) and Deep Sea Mission could harness biodiversity beneath the seas.
- A value addition can be achieved through Bio-economy, Blue Economy, and Space economy.
Ref:Source
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