CCMB, CSIR to set up Rs 1,000 crore biotech institute in AP

Hyderabad, July 13 (UNI) After the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Andhra Pradesh, which has a large concentration of biotechnology units, will get a world class Rs 1,000 crore Institute of Translational Research during the 11th five-year plan period.

A Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, here today allocated 75 acres for the prestigious institute in Medak district, official sources said.

Facing tough competition from Uttar Pradesh, the Andhra Pradesh Government impressed upon the Centre to locate the institute in the State, which had excellent facilities for pursuing research in the area of genetic translation, they said, adding that the Centre would release Rs 300 crore during the 11th plan period for the new institute.

The city-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the Councial of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) would jointly set up the institute at Karkapatla village in Medak district, where an IIT would also be set up.

The Cabinet also sanctioned the release of Rs 13 crore this year from the Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University for setting up a Rs 166.96 crore Horticultural University near Tadepaligudem in West Godavari district. The new university would function from this academic year, sources added.

UNI