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Building a self-reliant India is an imperative step towards building a robust economy, resilient infrastructure and a bright future where we are always ready to face any challenges as a society & a nation. One of the important aspects of becoming Self – reliant is developing a strong public healthcare care system with ample resources for diagnosing, containing and treating diseases and keeping the large population healthy and disease – free. This has become particularly evident in the present-day scenario of the Covid -19 pandemic. 

Biotechnology as a field of science plays an important role in providing tools to the nation for dealing with and defeating this pandemic. Be it indigenous vaccines, PPE kits, disease diagnosis, drug development, masks, ventilators, thermal scanners etc. India showcased it’s capability in the development of the covid vaccine for itself and the world. This was a 62 Billion $ sector in 2012 and is expected to grow up to a 150 Billion $ by 2025. Thus, Atmanirbhar Bharat or Self – reliant India is a guideline for India to become self – sufficient and hold an important place in the world’s economy.

5 pillars of Self – Reliance Vision and the contribution of Biotechnology in each of these areas:

1. ECONOMY
2. INFRASTRUCTURE
3. TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN SYSTEM
4. DEMOGRAPHY
5. DEMAND

ECONOMY 

The first pillar of a self- sufficiency in India is the ECONOMY. The quantum change brought about by innovation and research in the field of Biotechnology contributes towards improving lives of people by creating products and solutions which directly or indirectly contribute to economic growth. During the pandemic situation such innovations helped in designing diagnostic tools, making vaccines and testing existing and new drugs for the treatment of masses. The in – house capabilities worked as a confidence booster for the economy and general public.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The infrastructure of our nation is the identity of modern India. May it be agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food processing, herbal products or any other industry, biotechnology is playing an important role in making it possible to build an improved infrastructure.

TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN SYSTEM

We all should build a system which fulfils the dream of our citizens in this 21st century. The biotechnologist makes the system technology based and the innovations done by us are already fulfilling the needs of the population. We should create a kind of system which fulfils the needs of each and every person.

DEMOGRAPHY

On the path of self-reliant India, our strength is our vibrant demography. To support our citizens the biotechnology field is serving as a hope to life, to achieve the goal of healthy and wealthy life.

DEMAND

There should be ample supply and resources to fulfil the demand arising from requirements of the economy and market forces. Large production capabilities and a quick and efficient distribution system keeps the economy functioning well.  The biotechnology sector is working hard to scale – up its operations to provide ample support to the country and its economy.

Another motto included in the vision of Self – reliance was “IPPP” which stands for –

I – INNOVATION

P – PATENTED

P – PRODUCE

P – PROSPER

This is a message for biotechnologists and the scientific community to inspire them to work towards ‘innovation’ and ‘patent’ this knowledge so that we can ‘produce’ unique goods and services to cater to the needs of our countrymen and economy and lead the path towards prosperity.

BIOTECHNOLOGY – A DRIVER OF INNOVATION

In the field of agriculture, biotechnology helps increase crop production and develops better varieties of plants which not only fulfil the demand for food but also helps farmers recover losses. Biotechnology tools can help farmers by producing food grains with better nutrition, texture and flavour. The genetically modified crops are less prone to infections.

Medical biotechnology helps in production of desirable drugs to cure diseases. It also helps in correct diagnosis of ailments. One of the most useful products created in this field was the Recombinant Insulin. In the current pandemic situation, the biotechnologists are working tirelessly to produce vaccines, PPE kits, PCR based diagnostics tools, sanitization related products and machinery and so on.

To sum up, biotechnology is at the fore –front in the war against the Covid – 19 pandemic and is continuously providing tools for a self – reliant and self –sufficient India. Never before has there been a better time for the youth of the country to take up an exceptional career in this vast and fast –growing field and make meaningful contributions to their nation and humanity.

Submitted by                                                                                                      Co – Author

Name: Rishita Parihar                                                                                      Name:  Shubhra Mehrish 

Course: M.Sc. Biotechnology Semester One                                              Course: B.Sc. Biotechnology Part 2 

College: Dr. B. Lal institute of Biotechnology                                           College  Dr. B. Lal Institute of Biotechnology