Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Central Facility for Recombinant Cells and Sensors at BRIC-Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam, noting the facility will accelerate target-specific drug discovery and support medical and agricultural genomics. The minister also announced the foundation stone for a dedicated GMP facility and released a book by Professor V.P.N. Nampoori. The new facility was developed with investment of Rs 60 crores, equivalent to 600 million (600 mn) and is intended to serve academia, industry and healthcare innovators.

He outlined a vision for a bio-driven economy supported by the BioE3 Policy, which aims to align economy, environment and employment to boost biomanufacturing. He cited that India’s bioeconomy has grown 16-fold in the past decade from 10 billion US dollars (10 bn US dollars) to nearly 166 billion US dollars (166 bn US dollars) and is aiming for 300 billion US dollars (300 bn US dollars). The policy emphasis is intended to anticipate and enable a shift towards large-scale biomanufacturing and bio-based industries.

He highlighted growth in entrepreneurship with the number of biotechnology start-ups rising from about 50 to 70 in 2014 to over 11,000, reflecting an expanding innovation ecosystem supported by policy reforms and funding for deep-tech start-ups. The Department of Biotechnology has funded the new recombinant cell facility through long-term programmes. He emphasised the rising burden of non-communicable diseases and the institute's research in cancer biology, preventive healthcare and HPV vaccination evidence.

He announced that the GMP facility will support pre-commercial production of biologics and cell-based therapies, including CAR-T therapy, and will operate on a pay-and-use basis for biotech industries with implementation in two phases and total DBT investment of Rs 80 crores, equivalent to 800 million (800 mn). He called for deeper collaboration among research institutions, private industry and emerging sectors such as nuclear medicine and deep-ocean research, encouraging coastal states to align biotechnology with national missions. He urged young researchers to utilise the expanding ecosystem and assured continued government support for innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration.