Kolkata, Dec 23 (UNI) The Department of Biotechnology ((DBT), the year 2017 has been marked by path breaking research and cutting-edge technology in myriad of areas. The key areas span across healthcare, agriculture, food and nutrition, bio energy, and environment, which have reached people translating into benefits for them.
The Mission and Vision of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is attaining new heights in biotechnology research, shaping biotechnology into a premier precision tool of the future for creation of wealth and ensuring social justice-specially for the poor. It was set up in 1986.
Through several research and development projects, demonstrations, grants and creation of infrastructural facilities a clear visible impact of this field has been seen.
The department has made significant achievements in the growth and application of biotechnology in the broad areas of agriculture, health care, animal sciences, environment, and industry. The proven technologies at the laboratory level have been scaled up and demonstrated in field.
Patenting of innovations, technology transfer to industries and close interaction with them have given a new direction to biotechnology research in India. Initiatives have been taken to promote transgenic research in plants with emphasis on pest and disease resistance, nutritional quality, silk-worm genome analysis, etc.
On the other hand, molecular biology of human genetic disorders, brain research, plant genome research, development, validation and commercialisation of diagnostic kits and vaccines for communicable diseases, food biotechnology, biodiversity conservation and bioprospecting, setting up of micro propagation parks and biotechnology based development for SC/ST, rural areas, women and for different States.
The Department has also scored high in supporting innovations, start-ups and entrepreneurs, and in collaborating to pool international expertise to escalate science excellence. At the same time, it has worked relentlessly to nurture human resource excellence in biotechnology in several ways.
In a bid to create a globally competitive biopharmaceutical industry that addresses the country’s major concerns around barriers to affordable healthcare, Union Minister of Science & Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched the Innovate in India (I3) program on June 30 2017, in New Delhi.
The programme of DBT, with a funding to the tune of US$ 250 million, is a first of its kind mission that brings together industry and academia to promote entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in the bio-pharmaceutical sector.
This flagship program of the Central Government , in collaboration with the World Bank, will be implemented by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Public-Sector Enterprise set up by DBT.
The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) is collaborating with the drug major Sun Pharma to use the recombinant EDIII-based sub-unit dengue vaccine candidate, to develop an injectable vaccine that protects against all four dengue strains endemic to India.
Vaccine for malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is under toxicology assessment (JAIVAC 2) and another vaccine for malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax has completed Phase I trial (JAIVAC1).
Union Minister of State, Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Y. S. Chowdary, launched Sohum – a hearing screening device for the newborns developed by the Stanford India Biodesign (SIB) programme’s start-up M/s Sohum Innovation Labs India Pvt. Ltd. on July 17 at Prithvi Bhavan, New Delhi.
The event was attended by Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, Secretary DBT, and other dignitaries. It has been one of the key contributions to the ‘Make in India’ campaign of the Government of India.
The device is a foot operated resuscitation system that can free-up a hand of the device operator, thereby allowing him or her to use both the hands for holding the mask, leading to effective sealing and better ventilation.
This system is a safe, easy and cost-effective way to continuously monitor feto-maternal vitals to reduce neonatal mortality.
India Bio-design program has developed innovative technologies for day-to-day patient use such as Ostomy management device, Emergency medical alert device, Breathable and customised cast for immobilisation of the fractured limb, Fluid extraction device and Posture support device.
A new, farmer-centric programme called ‘Biotech-KISAN’ was announced that would create a major impact on rural livelihood. The objective of the programme is to demonstrate, scale-up and address issues of local farmers related to water, soil, seed and marketing, with validated technologies.
This programme is also expected to create strong a strong interaction platform between scientists and farmers. The programme also includes thematic fellowships in science laboratories located across all the agro-climatic zones.
In view of the recent developments in the field of biotechnology, biosafety & biosecurity, and based on the experience gained during implementing the biosafety frameworks within the country, a new guideline on ‘Regulations and guidelines on biosafety of recombinant DNA research and biocontainment, 2017’ has been prepared by the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM), Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi.
The regulations were released by Prof. K VijayRaghavan, Secretary, DBT, on December 5 during a meeting of states parties of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) at Geneva, Switzerland.
The guidelines have been prepared after incorporating views from researchers, experts, academicians, concerned Ministries/Departments and other stakeholders. The document specifies practices for handling hazardous biological material, recombinant nucleic acid molecules and cells, and organisms and viruses containing such molecules, in order to ensure an optimal protection of public health and of the environment.
Launch of “Brucella Free Villages” was announced for implementation on a pilot scale in 50 villages covering 10 states. Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, seen in animals, and causes economic losses of about Rs 28,000 crores per year. Three new Brucella diagnostic kits were launched as a part of this programme.
Under the food and nutritional sciences programme the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is fostering translational research and is developing novel products and processes and to generate new knowledge, which can be utilised by the industry. Some of the notable achievements this year are highlighted below.
The Ready to Use Food (RUTF) supplement with brand name BIB POSHAN, was developed with financial support from DBT.
RUTF is equivalent to the F-100 formula (milk-based) used at hospitals across India, but is instead made as a paste that can be safely given to a child to take home. It is not a supplementary food or a method to prevent malnutrition, but is a treatment for a fixed amount of time to get a child back on its normal growth pattern and prevent death.
The product is made from 100 per cent local ingredients such as soybean oil, sugar, milk powder and peanuts and is dense in calories (550 Kcal / 100 g), high in proteins, vitamins and minerals. Since it is in the form of a paste, it is simple to deliver and administer, easy to use, fast acting, affordable and inexpensive.
It also does not require a trained staff to administer (parents can deliver it to a child), is culturally acceptable, is packed in single-serve packets (each packet contains fixed amount of calories, i.e., 500 calories), requires little preparation before use, has a shelf life of 2 years. It can be stored in varied climatic conditions and temperatures, is resistant to bacterial contamination, and does not cause addiction in the child.
Iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) are widespread globally. Forty percent of the world’s children in their school going years are reported to be anaemic and cereal flour fortification with iron (Fe) is the most cost effective and sustainable way in reducing the prevalence of ID and IDA. In order to address this, Department of Biotechnology has undertaken iron fortification in rice and wheat.
Wheat is currently the primary staple food for nearly one-third of the world’s population and forms the major cereal food consumed by the people living in Northern India.
Wheat flour fortification with elemental iron is technically challenging, primarily due to poor absorption from elemental iron and the presence of phytic acid. Sodium iron ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (NaFeEDTA) is a unique fortificant, since it protects Fe from the phytic acid present in foods by binding more strongly to ferric Fe at the pH of the gastric juice in the stomach and then exchanging the ferric (Fe) for other metals in the duodenum as the pH rises.
It is two-to-four fold more bio-available than ferrous sulphate, particularly in meals with high phytate content, thereby making it ideal for use in wheat flour.
Sensory assessments showed wheat flour fortified with NaFeEDTA was not different in appearance, taste, colour or texture from non-fortified wheat flour, and children consumed all the meals provided over the study period.
Over 7 months, the prevalence of ID and IDA in the treatment group significantly decreased from 62 to 21 per cent and 18 to 9 per cent, respectively. Iron status indicators such as Hb, serum ferritin, transferrin receptor, zinc protoporphyrin and BIS showed significant improvements by the end of the study (all P< 0.0001).
Testing of urinary zinc over the trial period showed that NaFeEDTA did not affect urinary zinc excretion. As per FSSAI standards, NaFeEDTA, due to its better bioavailability, can be fortified to a lower level than other iron salts in atta, maida or rice to a level of 14-21.25 mg/Kg.
A randomised controlled study (RCT) was carried out by St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore to test if NaFeEDTA-fortified whole wheat flour could reduce ID and improve body iron stores (BIS), and iron parameters.
Iron deficient (ID) school children (6-12-year-olds, n=401) were randomly assigned to either a daily wheat-based lunch meal fortified with 6 mg of iron as NaFeEDTA (as chappatis or dosa), or an otherwise identical unfortified control meal. Haemoglobin (Hb) and iron status were measured at baseline, 3.5 and 7 months.
In order to address the problem of anaemia DBT has developed appropriate technology on iron fortified rice premix from broken rice kernels. This iron fortified rice premix matches with the normal rice kernel in shape and size, and when mixed with normal rice in the ratio of 1:100 it provides 50 per cent of recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iron to the children.
The rice is fortified through a process called extrusion in which dough made of rice flour, vitamin and mineral mix, and water, is passed through an extruder and cut into grain-like structures that resemble rice grains. Clinical studies have substantiated that regular feeding for one-year increases iron store and decreases anaemia, in school going children.
The Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, has developed India’s first home grown technology to convert biomass to ethanol with speed and efficiency. The technology, which converts agricultural waste into ethyl alcohol, or bio-ethanol, is superior to other prevalent technologies as the rate of conversion is four times faster than those available in the international market.
While the time taken to convert biomass to biofuel is about 4 to 7 days with prevalent technologies, the one developed by the team at DBT-ICT does the same in about 18-20 hours, and produces about 300 litres of ethanol per ton of biomass. The produce can be blended with petrol to be used in vehicles as fuel.
The country’s first second-generation (2G) Ethanol plant was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, at Kashipur in Uttarakhand.
Subsequently, the technology was transferred to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) to build commercial scale biomass ethanol plants based on the technology. The plants, one at Bina in MP and another at Bathinda in Punjab, are scheduled to be operational by 2018.
The DBT-ICT Centre, Mumbai has also developed the Rapid-Anaerobic Digestor technology, which can handle any bio-waste (including agri-waste) – dry or wet – and generate biogas within 24 hours. The technology gives a methane yield of greater than 90% and generates zero waste. It is now being scaled up to 2 demonstration /commercial plants.
DBT is participating in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan through a range of initiatives including bioremediation of filthy water.
A DBT supported project developed phytoremediation treatment process for the degradation of dyes from textile industrial effluent. The study showed that Macrophytes Ipomea neumon, Alternanthera philoxeroides (a massively rooted macrophyte), and Salvinia molesta demonstrated a potential for treating textile dyes and effluents in large scale (constructed wetland system) through rhizofiltration approach.
Field application of I. neumon, S. Molesta and A. Philoxeroides in wastewater lagoon systems was also successfully carried out. Studies to explore these plants in a constructed wetland system for textile effluent treatment at an industrial scale are underway.
With the support of BIRAC, a technology for removing organic waste from municipal waste water at 95 per cent efficiency has been developed. The technology, called anaerobic membrane bioreactor AnMBR (2000L), is a product of a company called Thermax.
A technology for treatment of wastewater from the distillery industry with enhanced biogas yield, called Vortex diode based cavitation devices, has been developed by a company called Vivira Process Technologies. The technology has shown an increase of 15 per cent in biogas yield over currently available technologies at trials carried out in Dhampur Sugar Mills and Lokmangal Sugar Mills.
Localised treatment of organic waste generated in apartments and societies is an urgent requirement in rapidly developing cities. Keeping this in mind, BIRAC has supported a technology called Rhino Digester. It is a novel, robust, versatile, modular, compact and cost-effective appliance for decentralized waste processing which can obviate requirements for costly disposal and treatment system for entire cities or regions.
It can be installed at the source of waste generation–society, apartment or organization, and can convert all organic content of the waste into readily usable resources. A prototype of the appliance has been installed in a canteen to get feedback in a field situation.
Domestic septage, municipal solid waste and landfill leachate are major sources of waste from cities. Treatment systems that can tackle these are major requirements for sustainable cities. In order to meet this need, a technology has been developed for co-treatment of these wastes by using a process called dry thermophilic anaerobic digestion (DTAD).
The technology produces bio-fertilizer. DTAD of 5 L volume has been fabricated and is being operated in a steady state. A remote monitoring system has been developed and is under testing.
A new technology supported by BIRAC can remediate pollution from wastewater of sugar or distillery industry and use it to grow algal biofuel. Microbes to be used in this process have been screened, isolated and optimized. The fungi that produces enzymes for decolourisation of the water, has been grown.
Surface water and groundwater around mines are often laced with heavy metals, making them unsuitable for use. A technology for removing such heavy metal ions from the surface and underground water bodies, called novel de-metaliser kit, has been developed from biopolymers.
Bio-sorption was carried out for the removal of lead ions from aqueous solution containing known concentration of Lead-Pb (II) by implementing hybrid polymers as biosorbent. Nearly 65 per cent of the contaminated lead ions could be removed through dipping approach, whereas nearly 83 per cent of such ions could be removed through direct addition approach at higher concentration level.
An economical, end-to-end process to convert waste to chemicals via biogas has been developed with the help of engineered strains. Lactate dehydrogenase genes from different hosts have been expressed and tested in methanotrophs. Recombinant strains show higher levels of lactic acid compared to wild strains.
Prime Minister’s Swachh Bharat initiative has given an impetus for creating innovative solutions to the pressing sanitation problems and challenges faced by our country. In an effort to provide cleaner toilets to the nation, DBT & BIRAC, in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has supported many novel bio-toilet technologies through ‘Reinvent the Toilet Challenge for India (RTTC)’ programme.
Six new bio-toilet technologies have so far been supported and different aspects of waste collection and management process addressed. The Energy and Resources Institute, with the support from DBT, has set up 100 toilets to demonstrate these technologies. Several bio-toilets will be setup in schools of North Eastern states.
The eco-toilet project of Pradin technologies Pvt. Ltd. In Bengaluru, Karnataka has redesigned the toilet seat. It has also made the entire process eco-friendlier by using ultrasound to dispose and settle neumo matter, thus reducing the use of water.
An off-grid, self-sustained, modular, electronic toilet for slums with solar energy, integrated with mixed waste processing unit, water and energy/fertiliser recovery was supported by BIRAC.
Undertaken by Eram Scientific Solutions, Kerala, along with the University of South Florida, the system showcased closed-loop resource recovery by integrating the slum e-Toilet with a novel onsite wastewater treatment and recovery solution termed The NEWgenerator, which can be deployed in high-density urban areas and areas suffering from water scarcity and low-electrical grid connectivity.
Realising that the waste in septic tanks is a rich source of nutrients for fertilizers, Bactreat Environmental Solutions LLP, a Goa based company, has converted this waste to sanitized soil and fertilisers.
The technology is a collaborative outcome of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, and Ghent University, Belgium, to improve septic tanks by converting them into decentralized wastewater treatment system. It can treat septage (biological waste) for a single household, as well as for a gated community of 100 people equivalent to 25 families.
The other technologies include use of viral agents, microbial fuel cell and effective recycling strategy to improve the economics of human waste disposal using granular material for hygienic water-free toilet. The efforts have started reaping results as the recent UN report shows a substantial decrease in open defecation in India.
DBT is contributing to national efforts to clean up Indian rivers by supporting a major effort along with the Netherlands to implement novel technologies for cleaning up of the Barapullah canal and then finally initiate efforts to keep the Yamuna clean.
The collaborative effort will support high quality research and development programmes aiming at ‘new’ wastewater management to ensure good quality, fresh water, free of risk-causing contaminants and promote productive, safe reuse of water, thereby enhancing human and environmental health conditions.
In the next five years, a wastewater treatment plant to make the filthy water potable is scheduled to be set up besides removing heavy metals from the water for reuse. Most of the technology choices for cleaning the Barapullah drain would be biological in nature.
It would demonstrate a novel holistic (waste-) water management approach, that will produce clean water that can be reused for various proposes (e.g. industry, agriculture, construction, etc.), while simultaneously recovering nutrients and energy from the urban wastewater, thus converting drain into profitable mines.
Special attention will be paid to removing pathogen and conventional and emerging pollutants (which are only partly retained in the existing WWTPs).
Cleaning Barapullah, the second largest drain in Delhi would contribute to cleaning of rivers, perhaps the most important and noblest of our missions. The project will develop an innovative pilot scale plant, suitable to Indian conditions in a location specific manner. Immediate goals of the project are to set up toilets run by primary treated water from the drain and an on-site bio-compost unit.
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