PARLIAMENT QUESTION: DBT GRANTS UNDER BIRAC, BIONEST AND BIOTECH HUBS
PARLIAMENT QUESTION: DBT GRANTS UNDER BIRAC, BIONEST AND BIOTECH HUBS
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, has established the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is a Section 8, not-for-profit Public Sector Enterprise that serves as a strategic interface agency, dedicated to nurturing India’s startup ecosystem and advancing R&D with a specialized focus on the biotechnology sector.
The following Institutes, Startups, Companies located in Tamil Nadu received funding from BIRAC under Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP), Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI), Promoting Academic Research Conversion to Enterprise (PACE), Bioincubators Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies (BioNEST), Grand Challenge India (GCI) and National Biopharma Mission (NBM) schemes during 2023-26:
S. No
Applicant/ Grantee Name
Scheme
/Programs
District
Fermentech Gsv Private Limited
SBIRI
Thanjavur
C. Abdul Hakeem College
SBIRI
Vellore
Cisgen Biotech Discoveries Private Limited
SBIRI
Chennai
Levim Biotech LLP
BIPP
Chennai
Seagrass Tech Private Limited
BIPP
Chennai
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Department of Nano Science and Technology
PACE
Coimbatore
Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences
PACE
Coimbatore
IIT Madras
PACE
Chennai
Central Leather Research Institute
PACE
Chennai
Avinashilingam Institute for HSc and HEd for Women
PACE
Coimbatore
Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University-DCAHS
PACE
Chennai
IIT Madras
PACE
Chennai
Healthcare Technology Innovation Center, IIT Madras
NBM
Chennai
The Cancer Institute (WIA – Women’s Indian Association)
NBM
Chennai
Christian Medical College Vellore Association
NBM
Vellore
Carenow Medical Pvt Ltd
NBM
Coimbatore
Vellore Institute of Technology
NBM
Vellore
SRM Institutes for Medical Science
NBM
Chennai
Theragen Biologics Private Limited
NBM
Chennai
ICMR – National Institute of Epidemiology
NBM
Chennai
Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Research Centre
NBM
Madurai
HTIC (Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre) MedTech Incubator, Chennai
BioNEST
Chennai
Association for Bio-inspired Leaders and Entrepreneurs at Sastra TBI
BioNEST
Thanjavur
Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal sciences University – Veterinary Incubation Foundation at TANUVAS
BioNEST
Chennai
Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education & Research
BioNEST
Chennai
IIT Madras
GCI
Chennai
The district-wise details of the number of biotech startups incubated in Tamil Nadu–based bioincubators, intellectual property (IP) filed, and technologies/products commercialised during 2023-26, are provided below. BIRAC provides infrastructure and operational support to ensure the smooth functioning of these centres, however, it does not provide direct seed funding to startups under the incubation scheme
S. No
Name of the BioNEST Bioincubator
District
Total No. of Incubatees supported
No. of Products / Technologies commercialised
No of IP’s filed
BioNEST HTIC (Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre) MedTech Incubator, Chennai
Chennai
69
27
42
BioNEST Association for Bio-inspired Leaders and Entrepreneurs at Sastra TBI, Thanjavur
Thanjavur
45
10
10
BioNEST Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University – Veterinary Incubation Foundation at TANUVAS, Chennai
Chennai
18
5
7
BioNEST Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education & Research, Chennai
Chennai
37
2
9
BioNEST-SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Chennai
Chengalpattu
28
0
0
The table below details the number of beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu who received scholarships or fellowships from the Department of Science & Technology (DST) over the last three years. This includes recipients under the WOS-A (Women Scientists Scheme), WISE-PhD (Women in Science and Engineering-PhD), WISE-PDF (Women in Science and Engineering-PDF), and WISE-SCOPE (Women in Science and Engineering- Societal Challenges with Opportunities) programs.
Women beneficiaries supported under DST WOS-A program in
Tamil Nadu state (district -wise)
S.No
District
2023-26
Chennai
9
Coimbatore
3
Karaikudi
2
Salem
1
Tiruchirappalli
2
Total
17
Women beneficiaries supported under DSTWISE-PhD program in
Tamil Nadu state (district-wise)
S. No
District
2023-2026
Chennai
9
Coimbatore
3
Dindigul
1
Kancheepuram
2
Sivaganga
1
Thanjavur
2
Tiruchirappalli
2
Vellore
1
Total
21
Women beneficiaries supported under DST WISE-PDF program in
Tamil Nadu state (district wise)
S. No
District
2023-2026
Chennai
8
Coimbatore
2
Cuddalore
1
Salem
1
Thanjavur
1
Tiruchirappalli
1
Tirunelveli
1
Total
15
Women beneficiaries supported under DST WISE-SCOPE program in
Tamil Nadu state (district-wise)
S. No
District
2023-26
Chennai
3
Coimbatore
2
Cuddalore
1
Dindigul
1
Tiruchirappalli
1
Tirupathur
1
Total
9
The table below presents the number of beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu who were awarded scholarships and fellowships under the DST-INSPIRE (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research) program over the past three years.
INSPIRE-SHE Beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu State (district-wise)
S.No.
District Name
2023-26
Chengalpattu
2
Chennai
15
Coimbatore
4
Dharmapuri
1
Dindigul
1
Erode
20
Kanchipuram
5
Kanyakumari
9
Madurai
2
Nagapattinam
1
Namakkal
8
Salem
1
Thanjavur
2
Thiruvallur
2
Thoothukudi
1
Tiruchirappalli
2
Tirunelveli
2
Tiruppur
6
Virudhunagar
6
Total
90
INSPIRE Fellowship Beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu State (district-wise)
S. No
District
2023-26
Chengalpattu
44
Chennai
144
Coimbatore
126
Cuddalore
13
Dindigul
16
Kanchipuram
3
Kanyakumari
7
Madurai
8
Salem
10
Sivaganga
68
Thanjavur
20
Tiruchirappalli
39
Tirunelveli
14
Tiruvarur
17
Vellore
53
Total
582
INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship Beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu State (district-wise)
S.No.
District Name
2023-26
Chengalpattu
6
Chennai
33
Coimbatore
2
Dindigul
2
Kancheepuram
1
Karaikudi
2
Namakkal
1
Tiruchirappalli
9
Vellore
5
Total
61
Additionally, the details of women scientists in Tamil Nadu supported by the DBT BioCARe program and the BIRAC Grand Challenge India (GCI) program are presented below.
Women scientists beneficiaries supported under GCI program in
Tamil Nadu state (district-wise)
S. No
District
2023-26
1.
Thiruvallur
2
Total
2
Women scientists beneficiaries supported under BioCARein
Tamil Nadu state (district-wise)
S.No
District
2023-26
1.
Chennai
3
2.
Coimbatore
2
3.
Cuddalore
1
Total
6
The details of DBT-supported R&D centres approved, clinical trial units operationalized in the state of Tamil Nadu under the National Biopharma Mission (NBM) are as under-
Grantee
District
State
Employment Generated
Healthcare Technology Innovation Center, IIT Madras, Chennai
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
5
The Cancer Institute (WIA – Women’s Indian Association), also known as the Adyar Cancer Institute
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
20
Christian Medical College Vellore Association, Vellore
Vellore
Tamil Nadu
12
SRM Institute for Medical Science, Chennai
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
14
ICMR – National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
12
Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Research Centre, Madurai
Madurai
Tamil Nadu
14