Diverse population, climatic zones lead India's rapid growth in biotech sector: PM Modi

New Delhi: Highlighting the potential of bio start-ups and bio-professionals in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India's diverse population and climatic zones are among the top factors behind the growth of the country's biotech industry.

PM Modi inaugurated the Biotech Startup Expo - 2022 at Pragati Maidan in the national capital today.

"In the last eight years, the number of start-ups in our country has increased from a few hundred to 70,000 in about 60 different industries. More than 5,000 start-ups are associated with the biotech sectorIndia's bio-economy has grown eight times in the last eight years. We have grown from USD 10 billion to USD 80 billion," PM Modi said.

He said India is only a few steps away from becoming one of the top 10 countries in the global ecosystem of biotech.

"India is not very far from reaching the league of top-10 countries in the global ecosystem of biotech. The trust in the skill and innovation of our IT professionals in the world is at new heights. This trust and reputation can also be seen in this decade for the biotech sector and bio professionals of India," PM Modi said.

Prime Minister listed out five factors behind the success of India's biotech sector.

"There are five big reasons why India is being considered a land of opportunities in the field of biotech. First- diverse population and diverse climatic zones; second India's talented human capital pool; third - increasing efforts for ease of doing business in India; fourth - the demand for bio-Products is increasing continuously in India; and fifth- India's biotech sector that is the track record of its successes," the prime minister said.

The Biotech Startup Expo - 2022 is a two-day event being organised by the Department of Biotechnology and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).

The event is being held to mark the completion of ten years of setting up of BIRAC. The theme of the Expo is 'Biotech Startup Innovations: Towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat'.

The Expo will act as a platform to connect entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders, scientists, researchers, bio-incubators, manufacturers, regulators, government officials, etc, said the PMO.

About 300 stalls are set up at the Expo, that showcases the applications of biotechnology in various fields such as healthcare, genomics, biopharma, agriculture, industrial biotechnology, waste-to-value, and clean energy, among others. (ANI)