India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has published its National Biotechnology Strategy-2014 (Strategy-II), to follow that of 2007 (Strategy-I). Both strategies follow Vision 2020, the plan to make India a developed country by 2020. Strategy-II was conceived with the input of hundreds of stakeholders, after meeting many goals of Strategy-I. Fulfillment of this comprehensive and ambitious plan would poise India as a powerful player in the world’s biotech arena.

Achievements of Strategy-I include formation of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, which, with the DBT, has pledged IRP 298 crore ($49 million = INR 60.9 = $1), that along with corporate support, will fund at least 112 approved projects under the Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme. The DBT has also supported at least 134 projects via the Small Business Innovation Research Initiative. New research institutions have been launched: the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in Bangalore, the National Agri-food Biotechnology Institute and Food Bioprocessing Unit in Mohali, the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology in Hyderabad, the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics in Kalyani, and the Translational Health Science & Technology Institute and the Regional Centre for Biotechnology, both in Faridabad.

Strategy-II seeks to expand biotech programs for society’s benefit via education and training. It also aims to increase domestic production of chemicals and medical devices. Principles behind the Strategy include supporting the sciences; strengthening existing and developing technologies; promoting research to provide applied solutions to problems; increasing funding for R&D activities to benefit society and the economy; fostering collaboration across institutions, including government, academia and industry; and improving regulation. Cross-disciplinary and translational research, and developing GMOs are priorities.

Strategy-II renews India’s commitment to basic science and promotes interdisciplinary approaches to biological questions. It will build an infrastructure for technology, supplies and international collaboration.

Much effort will go to health issues. By 2025, India aims for half its hospitals to predict and prevent diseases genomically. To do so, the DBT will encourage expansion of genomic technologies beyond labs to clinics for diagnosis and treatment. Research in systems biology, synthetic biology, expression profiling and small molecule screening will be undertaken to gain knowledge of disease mechanisms and progression. Genetic testing will be more widespread, and epidemiological data, such as molecular, cytogenic and cellular analysis, will be gathered. Clinical bioinformatics centers will also be established.

The Strategy addresses vaccine development, with a focus on further understanding immunity, and developing immunological models, novel biomarkers and new vaccine technologies. Improvement of production will also be emphasized, with support for testing vaccine quality and efficacy. Priority diseases for vaccines have been identified, and the establishment of regulatory departments in companies will be encouraged.

Progress in infectious disease research is another aim. To promote technological advances in analyzing biobank contents, the government will collect samples and maintain records. New genomic, metabolomic, proteomic and transcriptomic technologies will be used to study diseases and treatments. Translational research in infectious diseases will be supported, with new diagnostics and high-throughput screening assays to be developed. Priority diseases for study will be determined, and collaboration across institutions will be fostered via interdisciplinary research centers.

Chronic disease research and treatment are also of concern. Priorities will be determined and centers of excellence expanded or established for two to three diseases. Biobanks for these diseases will be created and research in drug development and personalized medicine emphasized.

Stem cell research and regenerative medicine will be strengthened. In the next five years, regulation of stem cell research and therapies will be updated, and centers for bioengineering, cell-based therapy and regenerative medicine created. The basic biology of the various kinds of stem cells, which will be used in translational and clinical research and to screen candidate drugs, will be studied. Plans also include studying tissue engineering and repair via stem cells.

Medical devices and implants are also mentioned in Strategy-II, with an emphasis on design. The framework to aid device development includes animal testing and product validation laboratories.

Biotech will be used to improve quality and safety of food and increase yields. Translational centers for agriculture and centers to develop transgenic crops will be created, and genomics and molecular mapping data will be used in breeding.

Centers of excellence to address matters of food and nutritional security are planned. Centers validating nutritional claims will also be formed. To help alleviate malnutrition by satisfying micronutrient requirements, research to fortify food and biofortify crops will be supported. Preventing and treating chronic diseases through diet will be studied, and new methods will be developed to detect GMOs in the food supply, and toxins in food, feed and water.

The Strategy also aims to increase livestock production and productivity. One approach is via genomic and genetic analysis of animals. Creating transgenic animals for disease resistance and biopharming is planned, as is developing technologies for converting agricultural residues to supplementary animal feed.

The aquaculture industry will develop further through research. As with livestock, research will aim to improve feed, particularly for larvae, and animal health, via genetic screening to establish robust breeding stocks. Genetic and genomic techniques will be used to identify additional traits that may be important to breeding, and also for improved understanding of the effects of diet on metabolism.

India’s natural resources provide a wealth of materials for developing new products. Marine biotech, besides being used in aquaculture, will be used to discover and develop new products such as enzymes, biomaterials and biofuels. A national institute and centers of excellence on marine biotech will be established.

Further plans for natural resource–based biotech include a national center for drug discovery modeled after the US National Cancer Institute’s Developmental Therapeutics Program, Natural Products Branch (NPB). As with the NPB, a repository for natural products will be put in place. Fungi, lichens and plants will be the first group of organisms studied for product development potential.

Environmental and clean energy programs also will benefit from Strategy-II. Metagenomic tools will be developed to identify microorganisms that degrade toxins and treat waste. Investment in clean energy R&D will help develop biofuels from agricultural waste and algae. Biotechnological approaches to preservation of biodiversity will include developing gene banks, DNA barcoding of populations of concern, and researching tissue culture and micropropagation.

The need to develop an infrastructure for bioinformatics is highlighted. A bioinformatics institute, several centers and a national data policy will be created. Computing facilities will be improved and increased, and data repositories will be established.