'IT and BT will converge to make Bengaluru the innovation hub,’ says Karnataka Dy CM on upcoming Life Sciences Park
Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka Dr C N Ashwathnarayan said that new Life Sciences Park will be set up to attract investments in biotechnology and generate jobs.
The Karnataka government announced that it will set up a Life Sciences Park spanning nine million sq ft to attract investments, foster innovation, and facilitate collaboration between the biotechnology and IT industry.
"I foresee that IT and BT will converge soon. And in these unprecedented times, we need to foster collaboration with the industry. Phase one of this park will be completed by 2022 and will be spread around 10 lakh square feet," says Dr C N Ashwathnarayan, the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Deputy CM of Karnataka, Dr CN Ashwath Narayan
To be sprawled across 52 acres, the Life Sciences Park will be in Electronic City, Bengaluru.
Speaking at a webinar on the setting up of Bengaluru Life Sciences Park, moderated by YourStory, the Deputy Chief Minister said, “We all know that government’s forward-thinking policies led to the establishment of ITPL over two decades ago, sowing the seeds for Karnataka’s domination in the IT sector. Today, our State is not only recognised as the 'IT Capital of India', but also as the global innovation and R&D hub. We strongly believe that the Bengaluru Life Sciences Park will play a similar role catapulting the biotechnology sector in the State, to establish Bengaluru as a global biotechnology hub.”
Also speaking on this occasion was Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon, who told YourStory that Bengaluru was the Boston of India when it came to biotech, and said that this new park will bring startups, corporate, academicians and funds to accelerate R&D and go-to-market in the industry for vaccines and drugs.
"There will be major biotech players from across the world who will be part of this park. I also believe we need to speed up our innovation as Korea, China and other South East Asian countries are going after the market," added Mazumdar-Shaw.
Other participants who spoke about the need to nurture talent, set up infrastructure, and startup funding included Vijay Chandru, Co-founder of Strand Life Sciences, Mahesh Bhalgat, COO of Syngene, Taslimarif Sayed, and Shrikumar Suryanarayan, entrepreneur and Hon Director General of Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE).
The park will have 150 firms and is expected to create 50,000 jobs.
Edited by Kanishk Singh
