{"id":42080,"date":"2024-08-25T01:13:56","date_gmt":"2024-08-24T19:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=42080"},"modified":"2025-05-01T04:07:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T22:37:43","slug":"cabinet-clears-initiatives-to-boost-biotech-and-research-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/cabinet-clears-initiatives-to-boost-biotech-and-research-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Cabinet Clears Initiatives to Boost Biotech and Research in India"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What is BioE3 Policy for Fostering High Performance Biomanufacturing?<\/li>\n<li>What is the \u2018Vigyan Dhara\u2019 Programme?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Union Cabinet cleared a proposal called \u2018<strong>BioE3 <\/strong>(Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) Policy for Fostering High Performance Biomanufacturing\u2019 of the Department of Biotechnology.<\/li>\n<li>The Union Cabinet also decided to merge 3 umbrella schemes of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) into the \u2018<strong>Vigyan Dhara<\/strong>\u2019 programme.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What is BioE3 Policy for Fostering High Performance Biomanufacturing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>What is high-performance biomanufacturing?<\/strong> It involves &#8211;\n<ul>\n<li>The production of products ranging from medicine to materials, tackling farming and food challenges, and<\/li>\n<li>Promoting the manufacturing of bio-based products through the integration of advanced biotechnological processes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Focus areas of the policy:<\/strong> It primarily concentrates on the following <strong>6 strategic sectors<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>High-value bio-based chemicals, biopolymers &amp; enzymes;<\/li>\n<li>Smart proteins &amp; functional foods;<\/li>\n<li>Precision biotherapeutics;<\/li>\n<li>Climate-resilient agriculture;<\/li>\n<li>Carbon capture &amp; its utilisation; and<\/li>\n<li>Marine and space research.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key features of the policy: <\/strong>The BioE3 policy&#8217;s key aspects involve &#8211;\n<ul>\n<li>Supporting i<strong>nnovation-driven R&amp;D and entrepreneurship<\/strong> across various thematic sectors.<\/li>\n<li>Expedite the development and commercialisation of technology through the establishment of Biomanufacturing &amp; Bio-AI hubs and Biofoundry.<\/li>\n<li>Bolster the Government&#8217;s initiatives such as<strong> &#8216;Net Zero&#8217;<\/strong> carbon economy and<strong> &#8216;Lifestyle for Environment&#8217;.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Guiding India towards accelerated <strong>&#8216;Green Growth&#8217;<\/strong> by encouraging <strong>&#8216;Circular Bioeconomy<\/strong>&#8216;.<\/li>\n<li>Nurture an advanced future that is more sustainable, innovative, and responsive to global challenges and sets out the <strong>Bio-vision for Viksit Bharat<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Significance:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It will address some of the critical societal issues-such as<strong> climate change mitigation, food security and human health.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It is important to build<strong> a resilient biomanufacturing ecosystem<\/strong> in India to accelerate cutting-edge innovations for developing bio-based products.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What is the \u2018Vigyan Dhara\u2019 Programme?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Background:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The DST acts as the nodal department for organising, coordinating and promoting S&amp;T activities in the country.<\/li>\n<li><strong>3 central sector umbrella schemes<\/strong> were being implemented by DST towards promoting Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in the country viz.\n<ul>\n<li>S&amp;T Institutional and Human Capacity Building,<\/li>\n<li>Research and Development and<\/li>\n<li>Innovation, Technology Development and Deployment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Union Cabinet approved the merging of the above 3 schemes into a unified central sector scheme namely \u2018Vigyan Dhara\u2019.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>The primary objective of the &#8216;Vigyan Dhara&#8217; scheme<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>To promote S&amp;T capacity building<\/strong> as well as research, innovation and technology development towards strengthening the STI ecosystem in the country.<\/li>\n<li>Implementation of the scheme <strong>will strengthen the S&amp;T infrastructure of the country<\/strong> by fostering well-equipped R&amp;D labs in the Academic Institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>The proposed outlay:<\/strong> For the implementation of the unified scheme \u2018Vigyan Dhara\u2019 is Rs.10,579.84 crore during the 15th Finance Commission period from 2021-22 to 2025-26.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Significance of the merger: <\/strong>It would <strong>enhance efficiency<\/strong> in fund utilisation and establish synchronisation among the sub-schemes\/programs. <strong>For example,<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>All the programs proposed under the \u2018Vigyan Dhara\u2019 scheme would be aligned with the 5-year goals of DST towards realising the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.<\/li>\n<li>The R&amp;D component of the scheme will be aligned in line with the <strong>Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"media\">\n<div data-oembed-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eoj6BOnZI8g\">\n<div><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eoj6BOnZI8g\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. What is the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The ANRF has been established with the ANRF 2023 Act to seed, grow and promote R&amp;D and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India\u2019s universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&amp;D laboratories.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. What is India&#8217;s &#8216;Net Zero&#8217; target?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>India, at the 26th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 26) in 2021, announced its target to achieve net zero\/ carbon neutrality by 2070.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/policy-on-high-performance-biomanufacturing-gets-approval\/articleshowprint\/112770362.cms?val=3728\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Policy on high-performance biomanufacturing gets approval<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/cabinet-nod-to-bioe3-policy-for-innovation-driven-support-to-research-and-development\/article68562996.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>TH<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deccanherald.com\/india\/union-cabinet-approves-vigyan-dhara-scheme-3163217\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>DH<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Union Cabinet cleared the BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) policy and a unified umbrella scheme called the \u2018Vigyan Dhara\u2019 programme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":42081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-42080","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}