Karnataka unveils its Biotech Policy, plans to generate 30,000 high-quality jobs by 2029

New Delhi: Priyank Kharge, Minister for Information Technology and Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka unveiled the Karnataka Biotechnology Policy 2024-2029 on September 06, 2024, in Bengaluru.

Through the new biotech policy, the state is targeting a market value of $100 billion of the industry by 2030.

The policy is centred on ‘Focused transformation through impactful implementation’ aiming to synergize with existing state policies, while addressing the specific needs of the biotechnology sector.

Key objectives of the policy include: Strengthening biotech education through skilling programmes, streamlining biotech regulations to facilitate business setups and attract investment, and supporting biomanufacturing aligned with health, climate and energy goals to enhance food security.

It also focuses on providing continued support for early-stage biotech startups with funding and mentorship, and for mid-stage ventures with growth facilities and market access through preferential procurement of local products, apart from enabling preferential procurement for local biotech products and expediting innovation through a Regulatory Sandbox, and supporting research and development and commercialization in genomics, molecular biology and related fields.

The goal is to facilitate the creation of 300 biotech companies, including 50 innovative firms with a robust incentive package, generate 30,000 high-quality jobs in biotech by 2029 and partner with over 200 institutions to train 20,000 individuals in specialized skills.

The updated policy is built on six pillars – skill development for a future-ready workforce, streamlining regulatory frameworks, specific support to biomanufacturing activities, scaling up biotech startups and MSME ecosystem, preferential procurement and sandbox, and fiscal incentives and concessions.

The policy works on emerging areas such as bio-agriculture, bio-industrial applications, marine biotechnology, synthetic biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics, AI/ML in biotechnology, antimicrobial resistance, multiomics for health, cell and gene therapies for rare diseases, and space biotechnology. Fiscal incentives and concessions under the policy include various set-ups, including startups, MSMEs and large industries.