India is set to be the third biggest global player in biotechnology and vaccine production by 2025, Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan has said.
He was speaking after inaugurating Phase I of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB)’s Bio-Innovation Centre (BIC) at Kazhakuttam here on Sunday.
The facility, spread over 50,000 sq ft, had advanced platforms for next-generation genetic sequencing, high-end bio-imaging, and state-of-the-art molecular diagnostics to serve Kerala and its neighbouring States. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy recalled the major role played by RGCB in diagnostics whenever the State was hit by epidemics. At present, the State had to depend on the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and the high-security lab in Bhopal for advanced diagnostics, he said.
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Mr. Chandy said the State needed an advanced biosafety lab for virus testing. A lab with bio-containment, disposal, and quarantine facilities was something the RGCB had been pitching for. The RGCB now had BSL II lab but as the institute was expected to explore new areas of research, it required a separate biosafety containment complex, he said.
RGCB Director M. Radhakrishna Pillai unveiled the future plans of the institute.