Govt. to start bio-informatics institute

By S.K. Ramoo

BANGALORE, DEC. 1. The State Government, which has set up the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIIT-B) to give an impetus to IT education, has decided to establish an Institute of Bio-informatics and Applied Biotechnology in Bangalore.

The institute will enjoy autonomy and flexibility in its functioning. The Government and the ICICI will contribute Rs. 5 crores each towards its establishment. The Government has proposed that the institute be headed by Dr. H. Sharat Chandra, a professor of Microbiology and Cell Biology at the Indian Institute of Science.

The institute will offer bio-informatics courses in collaboration with the IIIT-B and will be located at the Information Technology Park Ltd. (ITPL). The institute will run incubation centres for the benefit of entrepreneurs. The ITPL has offered 15,720 sq. ft. of space on lease for three years at the rate of Rs. 30 per sq. ft. along with a security deposit equivalent to nine months rental.

The ITPL has offered a concession of three months rental as part of the ``fitting-out period''. Since the Government has equity partnership in the ITPL, the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M. Krishna, has reportedly accepted the proposal. The Government has released Rs. 23,58,089 as five months rental towards security deposit to the ITPL. It has released Rs. 4,71,618 towards the ``fitting-out deposit'', which will be refunded by the institute. It has contributed Rs. 20 lakhs for construction, interiors and purchase of equipment.

The presence of many biotechnology companies and research institutions in the City has prompted the Government to start the institute. One of its primary tasks will be to facilitate effective technology transfer to end-users and play a vital role in the on-going biotechnology revolution. The current research in life sciences, botany, zoology, agriculture, genetics and information technology has given a thrust to the development of inter-disciplinary biotechnology and bio-informatics.

The Government, some time ago, constituted a Vision Group on Biotechnology with Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw as its chairperson. The group will suggest ways and means to harness biotechnology for the overall economic development, help set up centres of advanced learning in genetics, bio-informatics, agriculture research and so on and assist in evolving a cadre of professionals in the field and an apparatus for technology transfer.

It will help in generating a mechanism to assess novel technologies, protecting intellectual property rights, increasing awareness among consumers and farmers, understanding regulatory hurdles and evaluating opportunities for the establishment of new biotechnology companies.

The Chief Minister, in his Budget (2000-2001) speech, had announced the setting up of Vision Group on Biotechnology, to advise the Government on future strategies in the field.

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