UoP to get Biotechnology Business Incubator,Rs 5 cr sanctioned

The University of Pune is all set to get an incubator for young researchers looking for infrastructural support in the field of biotechnology.

The University of Pune (UoP) is all set to get an incubator for young researchers looking for infrastructural support in the field of biotechnology. Union minister for Science and Technology Vilasrao Deshmukh,on Monday,announced that Rs 5 crore will be approved shortly for setting up a Biotechnology Business Incubator.

While the UoP will get a separate building on the campus in about a year and a half,work on the incubator will start in the next four months. The proposal for the project was submitted to the Department of Science and Technology by the Department of Biotechnology,UoP and the Science and Technology Park (STP),about three months ago. “At the STP,we believe in converting knowledge to wealth. Our aim here is to transform job seekers into job creators. Pune has a huge market for biotechnology. Therefore,we thought of creating a platform where youngsters with bright ideas in the field of biotechnology can start up their own companies,” said STP DG and CEO Dr Rajendra Jagdale.

The project will involve an estimated cost of Rs 36 crore. Deshmukh said disbursement of the initial Rs 5 crore has been approved by his department. “The project will involve setting up of a separate building. However,we do not want to wait for the building to be completed. We will start the work in another four months, added Jagdale.

The project will involve setting up of close to 30 start-up companies in the campus. Each company will have about 12 employees. We have been doing a lot of work in the field of biotechnology. The companies being set up will help these youngsters commercialise their ideas. We will provide all the infrastructure needed. We are planning to get equipment worth Rs 3.5 crores imediately after we receive the funds, added Jagdale.

Academy of Scientific Research and Innovation

With the aim of ensuring that the country produces more PhDs in the coming years,the Department of Science and Technology has proposed setting up of an Academy of Scientific Research and Innovation (ASRI). Our aim is to ensure that we have more and more PhDs and the quality of research in the country goes up. The ASRI will take in about 1,000 researchers every year. We are aiming towards producing 10,000 PhDs in the next 10 years, said minister Deshmukh.

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