India's Bioeconomy: A Pathway to Sustainable Growth through Biotechnology

N. Lalitha

Abstract: The Romer model of economic growth conclusively established that the application of new ideas brings technological progress, resulting in sustained economic growth for an economy. As countries struggle with the problems of hunger, malnutrition, diseases, and environmental degradation, a sector that can provide solutions to all these problems is the biotechnology sector. Biotechnology is a field that uses cutting-edge technologies in the field of biology and chemistry to solve issues in healthcare, agriculture, and the environment. With its vast scientific pool, state-of-the-art biotech infrastructure, and an ever-growing startup ecosystem, India has the required resource endowments to build a strategic economic advantage for itself in this area. The COVID-19 pandemic saw this sector play a vital role in developing indigenous vaccines and diagnostic kits to meet domestic needs and fulfill demands from the rest of the world. India?s bioeconomy, i.e., economic activities based on biological resources, has shown robust growth in the last few years, and today India is one of the top 10 BioEconomies globally. This study explores the growth of bioeconomy since 2015, highlights the importance of biotechnology in creating a sustainable development path, and suggests measures to tap the full potential of this sector.

Keywords: Biotechnology, Bioeconomy, BIRAC, BioE3