Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Hiring Freeze in Pharma Industry.
A survey by leading employment portal in India, Naukri.com, reveals hiring freeze in the Indian pharma industry, 11 percent recruiters saying no to hiring new staff in coming quarters.
New Delhi: The overall economic crunch has resulted in companies adopting a cautious approach in their hiring plans. Naukri.com, a major job site in India, in its survey on the pharma sector revealed a drop in overall hiring sentiment.
Around 51 percent recruiters are expecting to add new jobs in the second half of 2012, which is 16 percent lower than what was predicted by them in January 2012 survey. Similarly, in January 2012 none of the recruiters had predicted a hiring freeze in 2012, while now 11 percent recruiters are saying that hiring will come to a halt within the next six months.
Mr Sumeet Singh, senior VP, marketing and communications, Info Edge India, said that, "Although the overall hiring activity in the pharma sector has been moving at a steady pace in the first half of the year, recruiters are now preferring to adopt a cautious wait-and-watch mode for the coming quarters."
On what increments were given out to employees in 2012, 59 percent of recruiters said that the range was within 10 percent-to-15 percent and about 25 percent said that increments given out were less than 10 percent. Talent crunch seems to be an important issue being faced by recruiters in the pharma sector as 73 percent said that it is very difficult to find talent that would be suitable for the job profile.
A deeper analysis of the job scenario for the sector shows that about 33 percent jobs created in the pharma sector in 2012 are from Mumbai, 12 percent from Hyderabad and 11 percent from Bengaluru. Most job openings in the sector are for jobseekers having three-to-five years of experience.
Around 51 percent recruiters are expecting to add new jobs in the second half of 2012, which is 16 percent lower than what was predicted by them in January 2012 survey. Similarly, in January 2012 none of the recruiters had predicted a hiring freeze in 2012, while now 11 percent recruiters are saying that hiring will come to a halt within the next six months.
Mr Sumeet Singh, senior VP, marketing and communications, Info Edge India, said that, "Although the overall hiring activity in the pharma sector has been moving at a steady pace in the first half of the year, recruiters are now preferring to adopt a cautious wait-and-watch mode for the coming quarters."
On what increments were given out to employees in 2012, 59 percent of recruiters said that the range was within 10 percent-to-15 percent and about 25 percent said that increments given out were less than 10 percent. Talent crunch seems to be an important issue being faced by recruiters in the pharma sector as 73 percent said that it is very difficult to find talent that would be suitable for the job profile.
A deeper analysis of the job scenario for the sector shows that about 33 percent jobs created in the pharma sector in 2012 are from Mumbai, 12 percent from Hyderabad and 11 percent from Bengaluru. Most job openings in the sector are for jobseekers having three-to-five years of experience.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Australia Gets New Agricultural Biotechnology Council.
The Agricultural Biotechnology Council of Australia is a joint initiative of AusBiotech, CropLife Australia, Grains Research and Development Corporation and the National Farmers' Federation.
Singapore: AusBiotech, CropLife Australia, Grains Research and Development Corporation and the National Farmers' Federation have jointly launched the Agricultural Biotechnology Council of Australia (ABCA) to act as a national representative organization for agricultural biotechnology.
The ABCA has been established to encourage informed debate on biotechnology through dissemination of credible, balanced, science-based information and help shape a new era of agriculture in the country. Its work aims to place biotechnology and gene technology into context as another invaluable innovation for Australian agriculture; ensuring that science guides public policy for the future of farming in Australia.
Dr Anna Lavelle, CEO of AusBiotech, has been appointed a non-executive director of ABCA to extend AusBiotech's work in supporting the development of the agricultural biotechnology sector in Australia.
Dr Lavelle said: "Biotechnology provides benefits to both farmers and consumers and important improvements are helping farmers to protect their crops from pests, diseases and droughts to provide consumers with increased yields which help to ensure a plentiful and low cost supply of food."
"Biotechnology innovations ensure that Australian farmers can supply food, while reducing the environmental foot print of agriculture through reduced use of pesticides and other environmental contaminants," she added.
The Chair of ABCA, Claude Gauchat, said: "As the world's farming sector seeks to double production to meet the food and nutritional requirements of the growing global population, we have a moral imperative to encourage and develop all potential tools and technologies that will aid farmers in producing more with less, sustainably."
ABCA was launched at the House of Representatives Alcove at Parliament House in Canberra as part of Science Meets Parliament Week.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
BIRAC Supports Small Biotechs in India.
Through Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), India government offers a number of funding initiatives for small an medium sized Biotechs.
Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), mandate is to take discovery forward and encourage product development Related Articles 10 point guide to BIRAC funding for businesses in India Public funding zooms past $650 mn for Indian life science Industry-academia meet focuses on innovation in India International bioenergy summit kicks off in New Delhi Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a not-for-profit company of Government of India, has been set up with the idea to serve as a single window for emerging biotech industries. The mandate is to take discovery forward and encourage product development by indigenous biotechnological companies.
There are a number of initiatives that provide funding opportunities to small an medium sized companies in the country. The following are some of the initiatives introduced by the government to push the biotechnology industry:
Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG)
BIRAC offers Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) to scientist entrepreneurs from research institutes, academic private sector and start-ups who have exciting ideas in nascent or planning stages. This scheme is designed to stimulate commercialization of research discoveries by providing very early stage grants for the development and maturation of those discoveries into marketable product or intellectual property (IP), in particular to help bridge the gap between discovery and invention.
The purpose of the BIG Scheme is to upscale and validate of proof of concept; encourage researchers to take technology closer to market through a start-up; and excite interest of potential licensees or investors.
Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP)
Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP) is a government partnership with Industries for support on a cost sharing basis for path-breaking research in frontier futuristic technology areas having major economic potential and making the Indian industry globally competitive. It is focused on IP creation with ownership retained by Indian industry and wherever relevant, by collaborating scientists.
BIPP supports the development of appropriate technologies in the context of recognized national priorities in the area of agriculture, health, bio-energy, green manufacturing, when the scale of the problem has serious consequences for social and economic development. BIPP is an advanced technology scheme only for high risk, transformational technology or process development. It is for high risk futuristic technologies and mainly for viability gap funding. The uniqueness of this scheme is that it is for "breakthrough research" that enables product and process development and is patentable, with IP ownership rights resting with industry.
Indian Biotech companies regulated under Indian Company Act 1956 with 51% Indian shareholding (including NRI's) who have DSIR recognized R&D are entitled for BIPP funding, either independently or in collaboration with companies, not for Profit organisation or academics partners. So far 88 agreements have been signed with 72 companies involving aprrox. 50 startups and SMEs. Scheme provides for both soft loan and grant. A total of investment of US $ 141m has been committed with US $ 50m by Govt. of India with a matching contribution of US$ 91m coming in as private sector contribution.
Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI)
The Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI), a scheme launched in September, 2005 by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), aims to encourage small and medium scale industries to take up risk in innovative R&D in biotech sector. The main focus is on supporting proof of concept and early stage research in start-ups and SMEs. Over 100 projects from small and medium entrepreneurs have been supported. SBIRI has deployed $36 million, of which $5 million in grants and $31 million in soft loans, with a debt-to-grant ratio of roughly 6 to 1. Public SBIRI funding has leveraged an additional $33 million in private investment by recipient enterprises as their core contribution, for a total investment of $69 million across approved projects.
Contract Research Scheme (CRS)
BIRAC extends support to academia in the form of grant-in aid for validation of the proof of concept by an industrial partner. It supports the academia-industry interaction between research institutes, universities, public funded research laboratories, governmental organizations, research foundations and companies or industries under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
Under this CRS Scheme, public sector research institutes, universities who have already generated or have pre-existing scientifically established proof of concept can seek support for specific research and validation process to be performed by a company partners within a defined time frame. The industry partner in turn would complete the validation phase in a contract research mode. The IP rights belong solely to the academic partner.
Bio-incubator Support Scheme (BISS)
In order to foster techno entrepreneurship in biotechnology, BIRAC has initiated a scheme for strengthening and upgradation of the existing bio-incubators and also to establish new world-class bio-incubators in certain strategic locations. These bio incubators will provide the incubation space and other required services to start-up companies for their initial growth.
The BIRAC Bio-incubator strengthening support is provided to those existing Incubators which have proven experience and competence to run successful incubators, have an existing network for mentoring and handholding of incubatees, and also can provide the enabling services to promote innovation research. This apart, BIRAC is will set up a limited number of new world-class state-of-the-art national bio-incubators at strategic locations, especially in and around the DBT Bio-clusters.
Grand Challenges Programme
BIRAC will also shortly launch the Grand Challenges Programme, offering researchers and scientist opportunities to innovate and work on scientific and technological solutions for affordable product development to meet national needs. The program will have one common defined goal: "Create scientific and technological tools to overcome hurdles and find solutions for novel affordable products of national relevance". High level of innovation, new tools and transformative ideas would be supported. These could be in health care, agriculture and energy.
These Grand Challenges Programs could be implemented in an industry-academia partnership model to be co-funded with strategic partners through both national and global alliance. These could be self-governed consortia with clearly defined milestones, deliverables, management models and IP sharing contracts.
There are a number of initiatives that provide funding opportunities to small an medium sized companies in the country. The following are some of the initiatives introduced by the government to push the biotechnology industry:
Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG)
BIRAC offers Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) to scientist entrepreneurs from research institutes, academic private sector and start-ups who have exciting ideas in nascent or planning stages. This scheme is designed to stimulate commercialization of research discoveries by providing very early stage grants for the development and maturation of those discoveries into marketable product or intellectual property (IP), in particular to help bridge the gap between discovery and invention.
The purpose of the BIG Scheme is to upscale and validate of proof of concept; encourage researchers to take technology closer to market through a start-up; and excite interest of potential licensees or investors.
Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP)
Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP) is a government partnership with Industries for support on a cost sharing basis for path-breaking research in frontier futuristic technology areas having major economic potential and making the Indian industry globally competitive. It is focused on IP creation with ownership retained by Indian industry and wherever relevant, by collaborating scientists.
BIPP supports the development of appropriate technologies in the context of recognized national priorities in the area of agriculture, health, bio-energy, green manufacturing, when the scale of the problem has serious consequences for social and economic development. BIPP is an advanced technology scheme only for high risk, transformational technology or process development. It is for high risk futuristic technologies and mainly for viability gap funding. The uniqueness of this scheme is that it is for "breakthrough research" that enables product and process development and is patentable, with IP ownership rights resting with industry.
Indian Biotech companies regulated under Indian Company Act 1956 with 51% Indian shareholding (including NRI's) who have DSIR recognized R&D are entitled for BIPP funding, either independently or in collaboration with companies, not for Profit organisation or academics partners. So far 88 agreements have been signed with 72 companies involving aprrox. 50 startups and SMEs. Scheme provides for both soft loan and grant. A total of investment of US $ 141m has been committed with US $ 50m by Govt. of India with a matching contribution of US$ 91m coming in as private sector contribution.
Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI)
The Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI), a scheme launched in September, 2005 by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), aims to encourage small and medium scale industries to take up risk in innovative R&D in biotech sector. The main focus is on supporting proof of concept and early stage research in start-ups and SMEs. Over 100 projects from small and medium entrepreneurs have been supported. SBIRI has deployed $36 million, of which $5 million in grants and $31 million in soft loans, with a debt-to-grant ratio of roughly 6 to 1. Public SBIRI funding has leveraged an additional $33 million in private investment by recipient enterprises as their core contribution, for a total investment of $69 million across approved projects.
Contract Research Scheme (CRS)
BIRAC extends support to academia in the form of grant-in aid for validation of the proof of concept by an industrial partner. It supports the academia-industry interaction between research institutes, universities, public funded research laboratories, governmental organizations, research foundations and companies or industries under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
Under this CRS Scheme, public sector research institutes, universities who have already generated or have pre-existing scientifically established proof of concept can seek support for specific research and validation process to be performed by a company partners within a defined time frame. The industry partner in turn would complete the validation phase in a contract research mode. The IP rights belong solely to the academic partner.
Bio-incubator Support Scheme (BISS)
In order to foster techno entrepreneurship in biotechnology, BIRAC has initiated a scheme for strengthening and upgradation of the existing bio-incubators and also to establish new world-class bio-incubators in certain strategic locations. These bio incubators will provide the incubation space and other required services to start-up companies for their initial growth.
The BIRAC Bio-incubator strengthening support is provided to those existing Incubators which have proven experience and competence to run successful incubators, have an existing network for mentoring and handholding of incubatees, and also can provide the enabling services to promote innovation research. This apart, BIRAC is will set up a limited number of new world-class state-of-the-art national bio-incubators at strategic locations, especially in and around the DBT Bio-clusters.
Grand Challenges Programme
BIRAC will also shortly launch the Grand Challenges Programme, offering researchers and scientist opportunities to innovate and work on scientific and technological solutions for affordable product development to meet national needs. The program will have one common defined goal: "Create scientific and technological tools to overcome hurdles and find solutions for novel affordable products of national relevance". High level of innovation, new tools and transformative ideas would be supported. These could be in health care, agriculture and energy.
These Grand Challenges Programs could be implemented in an industry-academia partnership model to be co-funded with strategic partners through both national and global alliance. These could be self-governed consortia with clearly defined milestones, deliverables, management models and IP sharing contracts.
India to Get World-Class Agri-Biotech Research Institute.
The Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology will be established at a cost of $51 million.
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet of India has approved a proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture for the establishment of an Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology (IIAB) in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The institute, under the Department of Agricultural Research (DARE), will come up at the cost of approximately $51 million (Rs 287.50 crore) during the 12th Five Year Plan.
The setting up of the institution is in keeping with the government's efforts to boost farm productivity to meet the needs of a growing population. As the net cultivable area of 142 million hectares in the country is not likely to increase, an increase in production per hectare is the only way to meet the demand. The mandate of the institute will be to undertake multidisciplinary research to develop crops with traits such as increased yield or increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress.
As a mother institute, it will provide both curricula and course material to India's agricultural universities currently running or trying to establish successful agricultural biotechnology graduate and post graduate programs. As a deemed university, it will include schools for genomics, bioinformatics, genetic engineering, nano biotechnology, diagnostics and prophylactics, basic and social sciences and commercialization. The institute will be involved in design and start academic programs to develop the highly trained manpower required for fundamental research in agricultural biotechnology, and award post graduate doctoral and post-doctoral degrees.
It will provide research output to breeders and developers in agricultural universities and other institutions to develop the germplasm and vaccines that would enhance productivity and reduce losses due to biotic and abiotic stress.
The setting up of the institution is in keeping with the government's efforts to boost farm productivity to meet the needs of a growing population. As the net cultivable area of 142 million hectares in the country is not likely to increase, an increase in production per hectare is the only way to meet the demand. The mandate of the institute will be to undertake multidisciplinary research to develop crops with traits such as increased yield or increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress.
As a mother institute, it will provide both curricula and course material to India's agricultural universities currently running or trying to establish successful agricultural biotechnology graduate and post graduate programs. As a deemed university, it will include schools for genomics, bioinformatics, genetic engineering, nano biotechnology, diagnostics and prophylactics, basic and social sciences and commercialization. The institute will be involved in design and start academic programs to develop the highly trained manpower required for fundamental research in agricultural biotechnology, and award post graduate doctoral and post-doctoral degrees.
It will provide research output to breeders and developers in agricultural universities and other institutions to develop the germplasm and vaccines that would enhance productivity and reduce losses due to biotic and abiotic stress.
India Biotech to be $125 billion gorilla by 2025
A government-industry joint report has predicted that India’s emerging Biotechnology will become a $100 billion giant from its current $4 billion level by the year 2025.
Bangalore: "A dynamic and vibrant Biotechnology industry would be one of the main engines of innovation in India and will establish the country as a global destination for innovation with economic spillover effects such as creation of a large Biotechnology manufacturing industry, high technology skilled jobs and supporting an ancillary industry that feeds the innovation engine," summed up a report commissioned by Indian government's federal Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and prepared by the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE).
The 2025 industry revenue number has been extrapolated from the 2012 BioSpectrum-ABLE Biotech Industry Survey, which revealed that the sector had a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24 percent since 2003. With some more support from the government with more favourable policies, the industry could grow at a CAGR of 30 percent or more in the next decade. This will nudge it past the $100 billion mark by 2025, predicts the report.
"The potential for India to be a global innovation hub, especially in Biotechnology, exists. The Indian Biotech industry has also shown that when proper support systems exist, they can deliver scaled up innovative products that are affordable and are of high quality," says Dr Satya Dash, who authored the report, 'Indian Biotechnology: The Roadmap to the Next Decade and Beyond', early this year as the chief operating officer of ABLE.
Dr M K Bhan, secretary, DBT, added that, "The government has established several innovative industry focused schemes, such as SBIRI, BIPP and the Ignition Grant. These programs are helping the industry to proactively incorporate innovation as the driving force for R&D, enabling the industry to build capacity for future growth and are creating platforms for positive collaborations between industry and academia for translational biology."
Of course, this is not going to happen if the business as usual scenario continues. An institutional and structural framework has to be built to help the country achieve its potential as a break out nationa for Biotechnology innovation.
According to the report, the five guiding principles the government should follow to make this happen are:
1. Create a strong, streamlined and regulatory foundation that fosters innovation.
2. Reshape and build government infrastructure to build capacity for research and development and facilitate translation and commercialization potential.
3. Facilitate technology access as well as market access for innovation products to achieve scale through public procurement.
4. Promote Biotech entrepreneurship and provide a channel to access risk capital for all stages of biotechnology product lifecycle.
5. Nucleate and foster networks and triple helix collaborations.
One of the key suggestions is to set up a "Centre for Biotechnology Policy and Regulatory Sciences" on the lines of the Institute for Manufacturing in University of Cambridge, UK, which brings together all the elements of regulation, policies, industry-government interactions, academia-industry interactions and business strategy. The report has also called for setting up fully equipped technology transfer offices in all science and technology research centers.
The government has declared this to be the Decade of Innovation. " Biotechnology is synonymous with innovation," commented Dr Vijay Chandru, who headed ABLE from 2009-12 and Dr P M Murali, current president of ABLE in their foreword in the report. "The innovation imperatives are clear enough - biosimilars and diagnostics for affordable healthcare, integrated traditional medicine, green biotech for less dependence on petroleum, bioremediation for environmental recovery, agricultural productivity and value addition, leapfrogging with genomics, synthetic biology and biomedical informatics."
In the past decade, India's Biotech industry has come into its and laid the foundations for the future. It is time now to build on these foundations and embrace the future strong commitment focused on innovation.
Will Biotechnology Get its Due in West Bengal?
Life sciences industry needs greater push in the home state of India's 13th president, Mr Pranab Mukherjee.
Mr Pranab Mukherjee, sworn in as the 13th president of India on July 25, 2012, announced various provisions for the Biotechnology industry as the country's finance minister earlier this year. This year's budget extended a 200 percentage weighted tax deduction to companies for research and development (R&D) expenses till March 31, 2017, apart from allocating around $1 billion (Rs 5,000 crore) to Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to help small Biotech companies looking to raise capital from the new stock exchange for small and medium enterprises.
Other initiatives announced included allocation of $40 million (Rs 200 crore) for the development of new technologies for seeds and plants and a grant of $70 million (Rs 350 crore) to agriculture universities across the country, which will ensure that the benefits of technology in agriculture reach the citizens of the country. Some of these measures received mixed response from the Indian biotechnology industry but are not entirely without promise, said experts.
The West Bengal government has set up the Kolkata Biotech Park, which is in operation since March 2011. Besides, other Biotech parks have also come up to encourage the industry. Bose Institute has developed the Jagadish Chandra Bose Biotechnology Park at Madhyamgram with focus on plant and agricultural biotechnology. Similarly, West Bengal University of Technology has developed the EKTA Incubation Centre in Kolkata, which has been recognized by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. Nine companies are presently operating from the incubation center in areas such as Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, IT-embedded systems, software development and materials science and other engineering.
The state has many companies operating in the pharmaceutical space, but has very few in the Biotechnology space. TCG Life Sciences, formerly Chembiotek Research International, is a leading company in the Biotech space with revenue of $100 million (Rs 500 crore). Some of the other Biotech companies operating in the state are Emami Biotech, Chembiotek, DSR Genome Technologies, Amit Biotech, Krish Biotech Research and Subhasree Biotech. DSR Genome Technologies, a Biotechnology company set up by Prof S K Dey, director of Biotechnology Department, West Bengal University of Technology, has been involved in development and marketing of diagnostic kits for post-natal and prenatal diagnosis of common chromosomal disorder.
The Department of Biotechnology is also developing a Biotechnology Park under public-private partnership model at Kharagpur in association with the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, a premier institution of engineering and technology in India. The project has been allotted 100 acres of land. In addition to support for infrastructure development, the department has given financial assistance to more than 15 projects in bioinformatics, biofuels, tissue culture and other societal development programs.
The state government has been making efforts to facilitate the growth of Biotechnology industry and development of clean Biotech technologies. But only time will tell whether the Biotechnology industry will emerge as a growth engine for the state under the leadership of Ms Banerjee and Mr Mitra, who has previously held the post of secretary-general of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and took the federation from $540,000 (Rs 3 crore) to $20 million (Rs 110 crore) during his tenure.
The promise of change swept over West Bengal, a state in the eastern part of India with its capital in Kolkata, in 2011 when Ms Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress pulled off a victory over the Left in the state elections. Now, with Mr Pranab Mukherjee taking on the mantle of the President of India, focus is back on the state from which he hails and has served as an elected member of Parliament for many decades.
Industrial growth, which has been almost negligible in West Bengal for many years, will take some time to match the pace of other industrially forward states of the country. The state was burdened with debt of $ 40 billion (Rs 2,08,382.58 crore) as on March 31, 2012, according to the state's Finance Minister Mr Amit Mitra.
The life sciences industry, which has been the growth driver in many states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Haryana because of initiatives taken by their governments since 2000, will need greater push to make its mark in West Bengal. The state has over 700 small and medium pharmaceutical companies but they have failed make their presence felt till now.
The Department of Science and Technology, Government of West Bengal, came up with the first draft of a Biotechnology policy in December 2001 to promote the niche industry. Later, in 2006-7, the government set up a separate Department for Biotechnology in the lines of the Department of Biotechnology at the central level. The Department of Biotechnology relaunched the draft Biotechnology policy in 2008 to give new impetus to developments in the field of traditional as well as modern Biotechnology in West Bengal.
In the last few years, the Biotechnology space in West Bengal has seen some growth. The department is promoting Biotechnology in the state through several R&D projects, demonstrations and creation of infrastructural facilities. There have been some achievements in growth and application of Biotechnology in broad areas of agriculture, healthcare, animal sciences, environment and industry.
Indian Scientists Vehemently Support GM Technology
In a first of its kind show of strength for genetically modified technologies, the Indian scientific agencies have jointly come forward to ask government for early implementation.
New Delhi: A recent event held by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to discuss about the cultivation of genetically modified crops, concluded with the participating scientists expressing their support for GM technology.
The event brought together several departments of the Government of India, including the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Environment and Forests (DoEF), and Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC), and saw participation of over 40 senior eminent scientists, technocrats and bureaucrats.
The event brought together several departments of the Government of India, including the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Environment and Forests (DoEF), and Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC), and saw participation of over 40 senior eminent scientists, technocrats and bureaucrats.
The group felt that there is a need to produce more food owing to the limited soil and water resources, and with the burgeoning population expecting to reach 1.5 billion by 2025. The group also felt the necessity of jointly facing all the challenges being witnessed by Indian agriculture. It appreciated taking into cognizance all kinds of new sciences and technologies to meet the challenges, using traits such as tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses, improved nitrogen uptake and its efficient use and enhanced nutritional status of grains to address malnutrition in developing countries like India.
The group emphasized that such new technologies will help farmers to produce more and conserve their valuable natural resources leading to the practice of sustainable agriculture in the truest sense. It was emphasized that the success of Bt cotton technology in India should be an eye opener for all stakeholders to move forward in addressing the needs of future agriculture.
The meeting resolved to make use of the collective wisdom of the stakeholders from different backgrounds in addressing the issues being faced in nurturing science-led agriculture development in India.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
CELLS & VIRUSES
Available eBooks to Download
Just Click on the Name of the Books to Download
PROTEIN STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
Available eBooks to Download
Just Click on the Name of the Books to Download
NUCLEIC ACIDS, GENOMICS & PROTEOMICS
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Career in Environment Science
The Himalayas are melting, The Pacific is rising, Polar bears are dying and we are losing the untapped information and potential of plant species at an alarming rate. We need to protect the earth not just for ourselves but for our future generations. And as Yugratna Srivastava, speaking on behalf of the world’s three billion children at the UN summit at the Climate Change Conference at Copenhagen asked the assembly of world leaders: “If not here, then where? If not now, then when? If not us, then who?” However, to work in this field, you not only need a passionate concern for the environment, but also a clear idea about what needs to be done for conserving and improving it. If you have a logical mind, and a working knowledge of subjects like geography, geology, botany, chemistry and zoology, along with good communication skills, there are quite a few routes to working as an environmentalist without studying environmental sciences per se.
Here are some you could consider:
Environmental Education & Communication: This typically involves conducting awareness programmes in colleges/schools, coordinating community awareness programmes — on rural and specific urban issues and communicating through the media.
Environmental Journalism: Growing public awareness has generated enthusiasm and concern for environmental protection. People’s voices are now beginning to be heard and reported in the media. Reporting environmental issues such as nuclear tests, construction of dams etc, making documentaries on various aspects of the environment and producing films on various issues concerning the environment are areas that environmental journalists/photojournalists can actively pursue. Environmental Law: This would involve working as a lawyer for an environmental consulting firm, environmental organisation, conservation group, or the government.
Environmental Activism & Social Work: This would involve working with an NGO, fundraising/lobbying for an environmental organisation, conservation group or actively espousing environmental concerns. Don’t expect a fancy salary, but the work can be very satisfying and purposeful.
Here are some you could consider:
Environmental Education & Communication: This typically involves conducting awareness programmes in colleges/schools, coordinating community awareness programmes — on rural and specific urban issues and communicating through the media.
Environmental Journalism: Growing public awareness has generated enthusiasm and concern for environmental protection. People’s voices are now beginning to be heard and reported in the media. Reporting environmental issues such as nuclear tests, construction of dams etc, making documentaries on various aspects of the environment and producing films on various issues concerning the environment are areas that environmental journalists/photojournalists can actively pursue. Environmental Law: This would involve working as a lawyer for an environmental consulting firm, environmental organisation, conservation group, or the government.
Environmental Activism & Social Work: This would involve working with an NGO, fundraising/lobbying for an environmental organisation, conservation group or actively espousing environmental concerns. Don’t expect a fancy salary, but the work can be very satisfying and purposeful.
Career in Biophysics
Biophysics applies the principles of mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics to the study of living cells and organisms including structures and fine structures, bioelectric phenomena, radiation effects, molecular behaviour, photosynthesis, membranes and modelling.Breakthroughs in unravelling the DNA have made it possible to study the inner workings of biological systems with unprecedented precision to investigate how the brain processes and stores information, how the heart pumps blood, how muscles contract, etc. The goal of modern research in drug discovery is to develop drugs that act in a specific way with minimal side effects while being demonstrably better than the existing therapies. Conventional approaches of drug discovery end up being a long and expensive process. Hundreds of thousands of samples need to be screened before reaching some potential compounds with desired properties. Not just that, it ends up taking dozens of years and millions of dollars. However, with the advances in protein structure determination, structure-based drug design has emerged as a powerful and swifter tool to develop new drugs with specific properties and minimal side effects. In structure based drug design, the three-dimensional structure of a drug target interacting with small molecules is used for drug discovery. Biophysicists work in universities, industry, medical centres, research institutes and government. The applications of biophysics are quite significant in biochemistry, nanotechnology, bioengineering and systems biology but its range of research is vast and includes topics such as structural biology or enzyme kinetics etc. Like any other field of research, be prepared for extended study-a PhD and perhaps even post-doctoral research to make a headway in this field. MSc biophysics is offered at Panjab University, Chandigarh, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, University of Mumbai, University of Madras among others. The department of biophysics, at AIIMS is a centre of drug discovery and clinical proteomics, which seamlessly combines structural biology, bioinformatics and proteomics.
Eligibility: BSc (H) with minimum 60% aggregate. Selection is on the basis of an entrance exam (90 minutes with 90 objective-type questions).
Eligibility: BSc (H) with minimum 60% aggregate. Selection is on the basis of an entrance exam (90 minutes with 90 objective-type questions).
Difference between NET and SLET
While the UGC was drafting the concept of NET as a mandatory requirement for determining the eligibility for lectureship in 1989, it also gave an option to various state governments and union territories to conduct their independent tests. It was felt that an eligibility test at the national level might not completely be able to represent the subjects, which are regional. Moreover, there was a plea to permit candidates to take the test in their mother tongue.If it’s NET at the national level, then SET is its counterpart at the state level. The SLET (State Level Eligibility Test for Lectureship Eligibility) has now been re-christened as SET (State Eligibility Test for Lectureship). The test is conducted both in English and in the vernacular languages. The only other difference being that unlike NET which makes you eligible to teach anywhere in the country, the SET entitles you to teach in any college or university in that particular state.The states or union territories that wish to conduct their own exam have to obtain UGC accreditation, which is granted for a stipulated period. In fact, SET is popular not only with the established states but also with the new ones like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand who have joined the bandwagon. About 15 states offer this exam to their domicile students.
How to Join NASA?
To be an astronaut you need to specialise in aeronautical /aerospace engineering at an advanced level. The men and women who make it to America’s astronaut corps must possess a unique blend of personality traits. A glance at the biographies of the less than one percent aspirants who do make it through NASA’s weeklong screening process reveals top scholars, decorated pilots and accomplished scientists.Astronauts spend years training before they can lift off into space. They learn to operate shuttles, perform experiments in zero gravity (and eat bugs if they must survive in the wilderness should a practice flight go out of control). Early missions used to be short and dangerous. Now astronauts are trained for the long haul. So, you must be capable of negotiating long periods of isolation, extended confinement, boredom and uncertainty drawing on inner resources to sustain yourself.Interestingly, over 1/3rd of NASA employees are of Indian origin. The NASA-Ames Research Centre has implemented a new automated recruiting and staffing system called NASA STARS. For more information on how to apply, please visit the NASA website: www.hr.arc.nasa.gov/students/index. html.For information on other student programmes or job opportunities, visit the following websites:
- NASA Jobs: www.nasajobs.nasa.gov
- Federal Government Student Jobs: www.studentjobs.gov
- Education Associates Programme (EAP): www.edassoc.arc.nasa.gov
- Undergraduate Student Research Programme (USRP): www.education. nasa.gov/usrp/
- Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Programme (SHARP): www.mtsibase.com/sharp/
Career Courses after 12th
BE
- BE Fire Tech & Safety Engineering
- BE Chemical Engineering
- BE Electrical & Electronics
- BE Electronics & Tele Communication Engg
- BE Civil Engg
- BE Computer Sc. & Engg.
B.Tech
- B.Tech ( Aero Space Engineering)
- B.Tech ( Metallurgical and Materials Engineering)
- B.Tech (Aerospace / Marine Engineering)
- B.Tech (Automobile Engineering)
- B.Tech (Automobile Engineering)
- B.Tech (Bio-technology)
- B.Tech (Chemical Engg.)
- B.Tech (Civil Engineering)
- B.Tech (Computer Science & Engg)
- B.Tech (Computer Science and Engineering)
- B.Tech (Dairy Technology)
- B.Tech (Electrical & Electronics Engineering)
- B.Tech (Electrical Engineering)
- B.Tech (Electronics & Communication Engineering)
- B.Tech (Electronics & Telecommunications) & MBA (Telecom) Dual Degree
- B.Tech (Electronics and Communication Engineering)
- B.Tech (Food Tech.)
- B.Tech (H) in Aerospace Engineering
- B.Tech (Information Technology & Engineering)
- B.Tech (Information Technology)
- B.Tech (Mechanical Engineering)
- B.Tech (Paint Tech. )
- B.Tech (Textile Engineering)
- B.Tech (Textile Manufactures)
- B.Tech Bioinformatics
- B.Tech Marine Engineering
- B.Tech( Electronics and Telecom)
- B.Tech(Industrial Bio-Technology)
- B.Tech. Computer Science
- B.Tech. Electronics & Communication
- B.Tech. in Bio-Technology
- B.Tech. in Information Technology
- B.Tech. Mechanical
- B.Tech.(H) in Agricultural and Food Engineering
- B.Tech.(H) in Chemical Engineering
B.Arch
- B.Architecture
BCA
- BCA
B.Sc
- B.Sc Biotech
- B.Sc IT
- B.Sc Computer
- B.Sc Electronics
- B.Sc Chemistry
- B. Sc Degree in Fashion, Interior and Textile Design
- B.Sc. Games & Interactive Media
- B.Sc. Electronics Media
- B.Sc. Jewellery Design
- B.Sc. Fashion Technology
- B.Sc. Mass Communication, Journalism & Advertising
- B.Sc. Multimedia & Animation
- B.Sc. Interior Design
- B.Sc. (Business Computing and Information Systems)
- B.Sc. (Applied Physical Science)
- B.Sc. Life Sciences
- B.Sc. (Hons) Nursing
- B.Sc. Medical Laboratory Technology)
- B.Sc. (Microbiology)
- B.Sc. (Hotel Management, Catering Technology & Tourism)
- B.Sc. Medical Technology
- B.Sc. Natural Sciences
- B.Sc. Agriculture
- B.Sc. Plant Biology & Plant Biotechnology
- B.Sc. Bio chemistry
- B.Sc. Bio Technology
- B.Sc. Physiotherapy
- B.Sc. Mathematics hons
- B.Sc. Aquaculture
- B.Sc. Nutrition & food Tech
BA
- BA (Hons in Sociology)
- BA (Hons) Economics
- BA (Hons) English
- B.A. Journalism
- B.A. Media & Communication)
- B.A. Psychology)
- B.A. Tourism
- B.A. (Apparel Design & Merchansidising)
- B.A. (English)
B.Com
- B.Com Plain
- B.Com Honours
- B.Com Insurance
- B.Com computers
- B.Com Foreign Trade
- B.Com Banking & Insurance
- B.Com Account & Finance
- B.Com Professional
- B.Com + Cosmic Certified Accountant
- B.com Corporate Secretaryship
- B.Com Hos in ecommerce, Economics and Financial Accounting
Diploma
- Diploma in 3D Animation & Visual Effects
- Diploma in Advertising & Marketing
- Diploma in Animation Film Making
- Diploma in Boradcast Journalism for Electronic Media
- Diploma in Event Managment
- Diploma in Event Managment and Promotion
- Diploma in Post Production
- Diploma in interior designing
- Diploma in Television & Broadcasting
- Diploma in Radio Jockeying
- Diploma in Sound Engineering
- Diploma in Television & Broadcast Studies
- Diploma in VFX & Digital Film Making
- Diploma in Equity Arbitrage Trading & Operation
- Diploma in Financial Accounting
Certificate
- Certificate Program in Insurance
- Certified Industrial Accountant
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Am I Really Suitable For Doing PhD?
This is just the right question to be asked to self before making a decision to go for PhD. Being eligible is entirely different from being suitable. There two different questions one need to ask oneself before making a decision about PhD. The first one is am I suitable for PhD and the next question is when the right to start it?
Doing PhD is not like M.Tech or MS, because of the time it takes and future prospects after it. It’s kind of bet on career when you are not sure if you are suitable for it. IF you think you are suitable then what is the right time to start.
I feel any student who has a desire to learn limitless and improve. Anyone who even not best in classes ever but have the passion to learn and even refer back to books that we read years before is perfectly suitable for PhD. Here I am not talking about people register in PhD just for formality or having a degree and a Dr. before their name. This about the students and learners who really want to do something in their areas or at least ready to give a sincere effort to learn what they could not do in past.
What is a suitable time to start PhD?, this a million dollar question. The answer for this is when you feel you have enough work experience to contribute to scientific development. This you will realize after working few years in industry. There are gaps in technology that are limiting the growth or technology and industry is not giving you enough time to address them. This is the best time to give it a try. Another indication is you want to learn and had not being perfect in basics and it’s time to catch up. There can be many other factors like promotions and in govt. and academia. But later cases are usually lead to a name sake PhDs and cannot make best out of it.
If you are really looking for a change and take a challenge with little risk, though i never felt it as a risk, PhD is best for you. Just keep the best work going, be honest and give an excellent contribution to research. Though you will never feel satisfied about research in PhD because it’s just a beginning of a long and sincere effort and you decided to choose it.
Take time to take a call for PhD, but once decided just jump and enjoy every bit of it. Life it do amazing things. Be prepared for it and be honest about your desires and passions. Things would follow, awards, jobs, career will come to you on the way. Don’t ever worry about it. Best is to give your best and take a call at best suitable time.
Wish you all a great luck ahead.
Biotechnology or Bioengineering : Prospects, Future and Institutes in India
Biotechnology in general is using technology in biological research or studies. Bioengineering and Bioinformatics are specialized domains of biotechnology. At B.Tech (bachelor degree in engineering) and M.Tech (master degree in engineering) student learn about basic principle of biology and engineering. They learn about using technology especially modern devices to create specific conditions for biological experiments. Most of the devices are related to experiments on cells and proteins, therefore biological courses related to cell and proteins are taught extensively.Biotech is basically use of technology for improving the speed of biological research not developing devices. This course provides manpower that is aware of the use of latest devices for biological research to pharmaceutical industry.
Most of the Biotech students go for higher studies abroad, as there is huge funding these days, they get good opportunities work in well established labs. Also they have opportunities to work for domestic and international pharma industry, though these are rare.
Core Companies: Ranbaxy, Dr. Reddy labs, Cipla and GlaxoSmithKlineg are few to name apart from many Government funded research organizations and CSIR labs. There are good research opportunities abroad, usually PhD students can get around $1200 PM and postdoc (research after phd) get around $2500 a month.
Average Salaries: 2.5~3.5 lakhs
Institutes offering Biotechnology courses:
Almost all IITs and NITs offer Undergrad, grad, and Phd Courses in Biotechnology
Rajiv Gandhi Centre of Biotechnology, Trivandrum
School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad
Institute of Chemical Technology, University of Mumbai
Almost all IITs and NITs offer Undergrad, grad, and Phd Courses in Biotechnology
Rajiv Gandhi Centre of Biotechnology, Trivandrum
School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad
Institute of Chemical Technology, University of Mumbai
Sunday, August 12, 2012
GENE TRANSCRIPTION
Available eBooks to Download
Just Click on the Name of the Books to Download
B: Overview of Transcription
C: Gene's Regulatory Elements
D: Transcription Mechanisms in Prokaryotes
- Transcriptional Termination in Prokaryotes
- Regulation of lac Operon Transcription
- Activation of glnA Transcription by NTRC
E: Transcription Mechanisms in Eukaryotes
F: Motif Structures of Transcription Factors
G: Histone Acetylation and DNA Methylation
- CREB Binding Protein (CBP) and p300
- Transcriptional Regulation by Histone Acetylation and Deacetylation
I: Transcription of RNA Genes
J: Genomic Replications of Viruses
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)