R&D INFRASTRUCTURE

The policy has very explicitly stated that it intends to forge a private public sector partnership in the development of biotechnology in the state. Apart from the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, located close to Hyderabad, are International Crop Research Institute for arid and Semi-Arid Crops (ICRISAT), the Directorate of Rice Research (DRR), Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) and several other specialised agroresearch centres of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

While the units at the proposed 150 acre biotech Park at Turukapalli near Hyderabad can share the R&D infrastructure at the adjacent ICICI Knowledge Park, the thrust areas identified are therapeutics, diagnostic and industrial biotechnology.

The state government has envisaged separate Biotech parks with focus on agriculture, horticulture, marine, animal husbandry, forestry and environmental protection in other parts of the state.

The biotech policy document states that agri-biotechnology will be given a thrust in the districts of Guntur, Krishna, West Godavari and East Godavari using the facilities available at the Lam Farm in Guntur district (for cotton, chillies and other spices), Marturu Farm (for rice research) and Kovvur Research Centre (for vegetables, tubers and bananas) in West Godavari district.

Biotechnology for sericulture and oilseeds applications will be encouraged in Rayalseema region so that facilities at Sri Krishnadevaraya University at Ananthapur and Sericulture Research Centre at Hindapur and other research stations of agriculture universities could be used. Marine biotechnology will be developed in Visakhapatnam-Kakinada coastal belt using the training and R&D facilities of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Central Institute of Fisheries Education, State Institute of Fisheries Technology and the Marine Biology Department of Andhra University.

Development of animal vaccines, hormones, monoclonal antibodies and diagnostic kits has been mooted. Facilities would be available at Veterinary Biological Research Institute and Indian Immunoligicals near Hyderabad.

Development and propagation of new and improved varieties of tree species can be taken up with support from Forest Department’s Research stations at Dhoolapally in Ranga Reddy district, at Mulung in Medak district, Achuthapuram in Khammam district and research stations under AP-Netherlands Biotech Project.

- B V Chalapathi from Hyderabad

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