Biotechnology

B.Tech and M.Tech in Biotechnology – Career and Specialisations

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Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products, and it is usually seen in agriculture, food production and medicine production. Modern use of similar terms includes genetic engineering as well as cell and tissue culture technologies. The concept encompasses a wide range of procedures for modifying living organisms according to human need.

Scope in India and abroad:

Similar to agricultural engineering biotechnology is again an interdisciplinary subject which contains many sub discipline such as process biotechnology, genetic engineering, molecular biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, medical biotechnology, bioinformatics and so on. In the previous decade biotech industry was considered as one of the booming industry in India but the growth of the industry, vacancies for fresher’s have not meet the expectation. Though there is some hope that in near future it may grow further but the present industrial scope is quite limited.

Further analysis of the situation revealed lack of well trained and properly educated man power. The setting up of biotech industry requires huge initial investment and excellent technically sound professionals. To attain that status will take some time in India.
Presently, there are some Government and private-public initiatives which may help in supporting the industrial growth in this sector.

Countries like Australia, USA, UK and Germany are having ample scope in this sector especially in agriculture and medical biotech oriented fields. Service oriented sector is growing with Bioinformatics.

Students seeking a career in any biotech related subject must have patience to pursue higher academics up to doctoral and post doctoral level and acquire sound technical skills and should have a research oriented mentality to get success. Person looking success and establishment in early stage of their career should not try to pursue career in this stream.

The global biotech industry is growing fast and there is a demand for trained professionals in academics and industry. To meet the requirement several special supportive fellowship programs have been established especially for biotech candidates in various countries including India.

Biotech Park’s have been established in different states such as Andhra Pradesh (Genome Valley), Karnataka, Delhi, U.P, TamilNadu, Kerala and other places but entry level to these institutes is still for a highly trained professionals not for general graduates.

The changing scenario of biotech industry in India is again raising the hope. Some of the potential recruiters in this sector are: Avestagen Limited, Noida, Strand life sciences, Bangalore, GVK Biosciences, Hyderabad, DRL, Hyderabad, Biocon, Bangalore, panacea Biotech, Gurgaon etc.

Biotechnology – Specialisations and Career Prospects

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The past few decades have witnessed a swift rise in the number of plant and animal biotechnologists using the techniques of cell, tissue, organ culture for plant and animal improvement. The discovery of restriction enzymes which led to the development
of a variety of gene manipulations has revolutionized Biological Sciences in the 21st century.

Biotechnology is no longer seen as an innovative academic activity, but rather an intense industrial and commercial activity. Crossing 18,000 crore bench mark the Indian Biotechnology industry is growing very strong with almost 20 percent annual growth rate. India has already emerged as a World leader in vaccine production, biopharmaceuticals, industrial enzymes, hybrid seeds production, and micropropogation commercialization The development of biotechnology lead to an enhanced use of natural plant-based drugs in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, functional foods as also cosmaceuticals in the global market. Modern biotechnology includes Genomics and bio-informatics, Agriculture and Plant biotechnology, Molecular medicine, Environment and biodiversity and bio-fuel and bio-instrumentation.

Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology:

The introduction of recombinant DNA technology enabled large scale production of human insulin in microbes at a cost that was considerably lower than that for isolation. In 2000, one out of the top ten drugs was a biologic. In 2008, 4 out of top ten drugs
were biologics and the number is expected to increase.

Engineered enzymes produced by genetic engineering and engineered microbes produced by using synthetic biology have the potential to replace conventional synthetic methods for production of drugs that are currently in use.

Industrial Biotechnology:

Recombinant DNA technology and synthetic biology have the potential to replace current industrial processes for the production of a wide variety of chemicals and fuels. Furthermore, genetically engineered microbes have the potential to convert toxic industrial effluents into useful products.

Agricultural Biotechnology:

The introduction of genetics and modern agricultural methodology was the driving force for the green revolution that enabled India to achieve self sufficiency in food. Strains of cotton that are resistant to pests have been produced by using genetic engineering.
Biotechnology can be used to produce strains of food crops with higher yield, ease of storage and processing, greater resistance to pests, and with ability to withstand drought and salinity.

Bioelectronics:

The rapid growth of the electronics industry has been made possible by rapid improvement of the underlying technology that enabled the number of transistors per square centimeter to double every year (Moore’s law). The physical limits to the density of transistors per square centimeter may be overcome by the introduction of self assembled 3d biomolecular electronics.

Summary:

Biotechnology has the potential to contribute to and improve all fields of medicine, agriculture and engineering. The are many opportunities for entrepreneurs in the fields of biomedicine, biomaterials, biofuels, agriculture, biomechanics and bioelectronics.

Low cost, high quality FDA-approved products, contract manufacturing, and clinical trial services are being offered by the Indian industry, to the global markets. The biotech market is anticipated to accelerate in near future in view of high demand for vaccines, biopesticides, biofertilizers ,biodiesel both in Indian and Global Markets.

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