With the Union Cabinet giving its approval on Thursday, India will soon have a first-of-its-kind institute of Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine at Bangalore. The autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology will come up at a cost of over Rs 203 crore.While a few private institutions have shown positive impact of stem cell work, its authenticity is still a debate in India. In the Government sector, only the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has a stem cell research unit. However, it has hardly contributed anything significant in the field. Experts feel the Cabinet approved centre will go a long way in opening up the research.“The idea to open such an institute came as none of the institutes involved in stem cell research has enough infrastructure, not even AIIMS,” Dr M K Bhan, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Biotechnology, told The Indian Express. “Whatever we are doing as of now is trivial. The reality is 15-20 years ahead. In fact, very few places like California are working on the latest technique. We wanted to open it early to take a lead,” he added.The institute will help in developing policies relating to stem cell technologies, identify needs, facilitate conceptualisation and design new technologies.
