On February 29, the Indian government announced its fiscal budget for 2016. The Department of Science and Technology received INR 44.7 billion ($650 million) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) received INR 18.2 billion for the year, a 17% and 12% rise in allocations, respectively. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s budget jumped from INR 2.6 billion to INR 50.4 billion; in contrast, the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research’s budget increased only 0.6% to INR 40.6 billion. The Department of Health Research will receive INR 70.1 billion, up 13%, and the Department of Agricultural Research and Education will receive an 18% increase to INR 66.2 billion. As part of India’s National Biotechnology Development Strategy, the DBT plans to create five new genomics centers and excellence centers, as well as training facilities and resources for researchers to analyze large numbers of genomes. In addition, it plans to establish 150 technology-transfer centers to aid researchers in commercializing discoveries from public labs, as well as 40 business and technology incubators for new companies and networking opportunities.

Source: Nature