Minister calls for PPP in biotech sector in Gujarat

Ahmedabad, Nov 30 (UNI) Highlighting the potential of Gujarat in the biotechnology sector, Health Minister Ashok Bhatt today said the state government was keen to go for more 'public-private participation' (PPP) to realise it.

He said more than 45 per cent of pharma industry is based in Gujarat. ''The pharma companies here are all research-based and not mere copy-cats. Plus, the state also boasts of 2,000 herbs and the Gujarat government is all for transferring them from forests to farms. This can be major incentive for ayurvedic companies to play a big role here,'' he said.

He, however, regretted that the Centre did not have a coherent pharma policy to help the allround development of the sector.

Mr Bhatt was speaking at a seminar organised by the biotech resource centre, set up by industry chamber FICCI, in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and GTZ (German Technical Cooperation).

The center acts as a platform to knit bilateral relationship between small and medium scale entrepreneurs (SMEs), R&D institutes and academia.

The Minister also said his government was open to cooperation in the field of research and education and called upon the GTZ, an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations, to look into Gujarat's potential. ''We can work closely to realise it,'' he said.

Mr Bhatt also released a report of the resource centre on biotechnology and textiles on the occasion.

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