What has been your
experiences with
the BioInvest where
you have been a part
since its inception
either years ago?
The event has been a
connect between the
startups, entrepreneurs
and the funding agencies
as well as investors since
its beginning more than
eight years ago. The most
important point noticed
is that earlier we did
not have enough grants
available that could take
the ideas from paper to
at least proof of concept
Be it political
bosses,
industry,
regulators,
academia or
others, all must
play their part
and move towards
single direction.
Otherwise we
will be again
discussing how
to achieve $100
billion industry by
2025.
stage. Today there is lot
of scope for startups to
get noticed by potential
investors. Besides, the
funding agencies too have
a wider scope now. The
scenario was different
even five years ago from
what it is now. You see a
good number of investors
in the room today and the
mood is visible different
as well. It was a different
case then. The halls used
to be filled with people
yet only lucky few would
manage some funds.
That’s the difference!
How realistic is the
target of $ 100 billion
industry by 2020? Is
it achievable?
See one of the basic thing
is that it is like tying you
both hands, legs, closing
your eyes and then saying
you do it now! When the
vision of $100 billion
industry was made, we
looked at the constraints
too and there was a
time frame for resolving
these constraints. Have
we been able to address
these issues within a
time frame? My answer
is no! So, you can blame
100 people for that. You
can blame government,
policymakers, industry
or any stakeholder. But
it must be remembered
that it requires collective
effort if the dream has to
be realized. You need to
unshackle things that are
holding the industry back.
Our country is an
agriculture country.
Everybody confuses
agriculture biotechnology
as genetically modified
one. There are hundreds
of non-GM processes
that could be done with
the biotechnology. Those
need to be supported
and managed. There are
hundreds of things that
can be done through
plant breeding, marker
assisted selection (MAS)
technology etc. Nobody is
stopping but the point is
stigma, regulatory hassles
and lack of investments.
The investments are
not happening because
we have shattered the
investor confidence by
doing trivial things few
times. By the time, you
try to woo them again, it
is too late. There are few
small things we simply
haven’t tied up together. It
is not just becau