National Mission on Bioeconomy

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•  The National Mission on Bioeconomy has launched in Shillong, Meghalaya by the Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD).
• The mission is unique to south-east Asia and India has become one of the few countries to tap bio-resources.

About this mission:

• The purpose of the mission is to boost rural economy by utilizing bio-resources. Besides, its optimum utilization can create a large number of jobs at village level.
• It also focuses on sustainable utilization of renewable biological resources for food, bio-energy and bio-based products through knowledge-based approaches.
• It has potential to generate new solutions for the planet’s major challenges in the field of energy, food, health, water, climate change and deliver social, economic and environmental benefits.
• Bioeconomy is a new concept and few countries like US, Canada, European Union (EU) and Australia have started initiatives in this field. India is the fast-growing bioeconomy at US 35 billion dollars in 2015, which can even rise to USD 100 billion in future.
• The Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD): It functions under the Department of Biotechnology, Union Ministry of Science and Technology.

Analysis:

• Meghalaya and NE India being amongst the World’s top 10 biodiversity hotspots, has great potential to develop a vibrant bioeconomy for the socio-economic development of the region.
• USA, Canada, European Union and Australia, have established initiatives on Bioeconomy. However, India does not have a dedicated strategy and policy on Bioeconomy, even though it is rich in biodiversity. A latest estimate pegs India’s fast-growing Bioeconomy at US$35 billion in 2015, which can rise even to US$100 billion.
• National Mission on Bioeconomy envisages the development of a roadmap for an actionable policy recommendation involving all stakeholders for the transformation of India through job creation from small scale livelihood enterprises to commercial scale production for increased economic growth through technological packages to increase primary production, value addition of the unique bioresources through industrial biotechnology and provision of bio services, with tailored packages that are relevant to specific regions across India.