New Delhi: Union Minister of State in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh on Saturday said that in the Biotech Start-ups sector, India was moving from women-specific to women-led projects. He said that India today was looking at a growth of the biotech sector from $80 Billion to $150 Billion in the next 4 years and added that this could not be accomplished without the active participation of women.
After releasing a book based on “Compendium of 75 Women Biotech Entrepreneurs” at Biotech Start-up Expo held at Pragati Maidan here, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also the Union Minister of State (independent charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (independent charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, was addressing the session “The Way Forward.”
He said, in the past 8 years of Modi Government, the number of female entrepreneur-owned Biotech companies had seen an exponential rise and this could be aptly described as women-led empowerment, rather than only the women empowerment.
The Minister said, “The women scientists have carved a niche for themselves in space, nuclear science, drone and Nano-technology and added that many of the big scientific projects including that of the most ambitious manned mission Gaganyaan to be launched in 2023 are being led by women scientists.”
He said, “One of the key pillars of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s New India is the success story of women innovators in the country.”
Dr Jitendra said, “The DST and DBT in the Union Ministry of Science & Technology have special schemes to attract women scientists and to provide employment opportunities to the unemployed women scientists.”
He said that market conditions, access to varied business opportunities, and female entrepreneurs’ readiness to jump into the world of business ownership created a winning trifecta.
The Union Minister revealed that the number of Biotech Start-Ups in the country increased from 50 to over 5,000 in the last 8 years, because of the support and enabling milieu provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ever since he took over in 2014.
“It is expected to cross the figure of 10,000 by 2025,” he added. He further added that Biotechnology was the key enabling technology driving bio-economy that was recognized as a sunrise sector. He informed that India was ranked 12th in the world in biotech, 3rd in Asia-pacific and the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world.