India to open Education Sector in a big way: Sibal

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Bangalore, Dec 12: The UPA government would openup the education sector in a big way to prepare the country for an expected spurt in the entry of world biotech majors, Union Science and Technology minister Kapil Sibal has said.

Speaking at the BioSpectrum 'Indian Biotech Industry Awards' presentation ceremony here last night, he said the world majors in the biotech field were moving into India mainly for two reasons like the cost factor and lack of human resources back home.

''What happened to IT sector earlier will happen in biotech as well. People want to come to India because they don't have required human resources. How quickly can we prepare ourselves to receive them will be a challenge. Hence we have decided to open up the education to achieve higher standards in mind power and strengthen faculty in research institutes. The government will also ensure a level playing field for all,'' he said.

Mr Sibal said the BT sector would grow at such a pace which the sector was yet to realise. Name of the game would be collaboration and the Indian companies were on the right track by making acquisitions of medium size companies that held a large number of patents.

The West was struggling to sustain the stringent policy they had been adopting in the BT sector which had led to the industry moving into India. The UPA government was framing a regulatory framework and had finalised a validation procedure for the sector, he said.

''Indian companies are taking over foreign companies. The country will become centre stage of the world BT industry in the future. The progress will be much more than the industry expect. The industry which was still in a nascent stage at 1.5 billion US Dollars now would grow to 40 billion dollars by the year 2015,'' he predicted.

The minister termed India as a ''classical predator'' which moved forward using the world technology. The present scenario in the BT sector provided right opportunities for the country to emerge as the leader, he added.

Union Secretary in the Department of BT, R K Bhan, said innovation would be the driver for the BT industry and it should be the main strategy of the country. The country had homogenous talent but it had to imbibe toughness to develop.

CSIR Director General R A Mashelkar said the BT sector in India with its cost arbitrage advantage should make innovation as a watchword.

''We have to go for products like 'made for the first time in India' tags. We have to make new things happen. Indian companies are taking over foreign companies at three times more than what is happening other way round. Wockhardt and Ranbaxy are already at it.

There is an urgent need to create a 'Global Technology acquisition fund' and adapt a completely different strategy in the BT sector,'' he said.

However, to emerge as the world player, the country needed superior mind power and it had to set very good human knowledge standards, he added.

Dr Mashelkar was conferred with the Life Time Achievement Award while Mr Sibal was honoured with Leadership award. Others who received different awards included Dr Villoo Morawala-Patell (Entrepreneur of the Year), Biocon, Bangalore (BT industry of the year) and Serum Institute of India, Pune (BioPharma company of the year).


UNI

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