BioVoice News May 2017 Issue 12 Volume 1 | Page 33

BIOHACKING IS MOSTLY UNKNOWN IN INDIA! “Globally biohacking has steadily been growing and becoming more mainstream. Countries like USA, UK and Ireland have taken a lead here by building communities, labs and promoting companies and policy. India unfortunately like always has been a late adopter with us seeing some acknowledgment of trends like synthetic biology in this country only now. In my experience over the past three years I have not come across many people who know what biohacking means. We also do not have any community biohacker spaces. Globally, especially in USA, you can drop into one of these community labs and get access to all equipment and reagents for a monthly fee. You also get expertise in terms of the community and biosafety advise.” UJJWAL THAAKAR, CHIEF EVERYTHING OFFICER, KESAR BIOTECH The tagline of the company says it all. “Biotech made simple, without spending thousands of dollars or a PhD.” When asked to explain, he says the idea behind this is not deep. “It’s pretty simple. We want the ability to understand and dabble in biotechnology without requiring much capital or years of expertise. In short, we want to remove the barriers that stop people from even thinking about getting into biotechnology.” Right now, he is expecting to finish the product in a couple of months and start beta testing with some leading universities. As per him, once he irons out the bugs, he will go ahead and try to reach colleges where students need his machine. “Besides that, we’re also taking a fresh approach to software and have some interesting features and products in the pipeline,” he concludes. Three cheers to his vision with a hope that he will find his takers soon. BIOVOICENEWS.COM 33