Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (MoS) for Science and Technology, announced 75 “Amrit” awards on Monday, August 22, for collaborative biotech initiatives including startups, business, university, and research organisations.
“75 inter-disciplinary, multi-institutional grants would be supported for high-risk, ambitious research ideas, milestones-driven collaborative research in all domain specific areas of the biotech sector,” Singh said.
Startups under ‘Amrit’ initiative to receive INR 10-15Cr
According to the minister, entrepreneurs will be permitted to establish teams under a public-private partnership (PPP) model and will be eligible to receive funds of INR 10-15 Cr over the course of two to three years for high-quality research.
In order to fulfil “national priorities to promote India as a worldwide leader” in biotechnology, the grants will generally be made available for research in fields such as health, agribiotech, climate change, synthetic biology, and sustainable bioresource management.
“Under this initiative, ambitious research ideas, high-risk, milestone-driven collaborative research for knowledge-based discoveries with broad demonstrable application from both academia and industry will be considered for support,” said MoS Singh.
The project, known as the DBT-BIRAC 75 Amrit Team Grant, was designed to support the government’s emphasis on research and was centred around the phrase “Jai Anusandhan” (hail research).
The minister stated that the initiative’s main tenets will be venture development and knowledge-based finding solutions for societal issues.
“This initiative builds on the deep foundation of partnerships to support new and innovative research programs, which aims to propel India to a position of global leadership”, noted Singh.
The grants come amidst the government’s renewed focus on the domain in recent months. Earlier this year, a two-day Biotech Startup Expo 2022 was organised in New Delhi to provide a common platform for investors and entrepreneurs to connect at a single place.
At the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that nearly 1,100 biotech startups have emerged in the country in the last year.
