2 Mega Watt Solar Power Plant Inaugurated at Naval Station Karanja, Uran

Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, e-inaugurated the first Two Mega Watt Capacity Solar Power Plant of the Western Naval Command on 20 Jul 2020.

The Plant has been installed at Naval Station Karanja and is one of the largest solar plants in the region. The Solar Plant comprises of 100 per cent indigenously developed solar panels, tracking tables and inverters. The plant is grid interconnected utilising the state of art single axis sun tracking technology with computerised monitoring and control.

The project is a significant step by the Indian Navy towards harnessing Solar energy and use of renewable source of energy for meeting the power supply requirement of Naval Station.

Britannia plans Rs 700 crore capex, bullish on rural demand

Britannia Industries, FMCG major, plans to invest around Rs 700 crore (US$ 99.30 million) over the next two-and-half years for its new facilities.

Although, the rural demand remained stable during the coronavirus outbreak and the company will focus more on its core products, its managing director Mr Varun Berry said.

Mr Berry added, "The company is looking at some capex (capital expenditure) of more than Rs 700 crore (US$ 99.30 million) over the next two-and- half years."

The company plans to set up new manufacturing facilities in UP, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, and Odisha, he said.

The company’s net profit increased by 118 per cent to Rs 542 crore (US$ 76.89 million) and the turnover was Rs 3,420 crore (US$ 485.18 million), up by 26.6 per cent in the first quarter of current fiscal year, over the corresponding period last year.

The company plans to prioritise its core products as the future is uncertain for the next six to nine months. The focus will be on less on innovation, Mr Berry said.

He added that the rural demand was not affected by the coronavirus pandemic and it will continue to grow at a higher pace than urban.

The COVID-19 crisis will leave a permanent impact on the consumer behaviour, and home consumption will increase.

"During the first quarter, the company has been able to unlock efficiencies and prioritised on high gross margin and premium products," he said.

The cost has been cut by reducing working capital as the inventory levels were low, he added.

Regarding commodity prices, Mr Berry said there was deflation in flour and milk products, while sugar saw a three per cent price rise.

Tamil Nadu government signs MoUs for Rs 10,000 crore new investments, jobs creation

The Tamil Nadu Government signed eight new Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 10,399 crore (US$ 1.48 billion).

It is estimated that these projects will create 13,507 jobs across the state in solar cells, data centres and industrial parks, according to an official release.

These MoUs will attract investments in the areas of solar cells and modules manufacturing, agro-tech and iron foundry, among others.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of chief minister Mr K Palaniswami. Out of the eight MoUs, five were signed in the presence of the CM, while three were done through video conferencing.

The release added that the projects will be implemented in Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Ranipettai, Coimbatore, Viluppuram and Erode districts.

The project will be monitored by a high-powered committee, chaired by the chief minister, and will accelerate various clearances and establish a Special Investment Promotion Task Force under the chairmanship of the chief secretary.

Industries minister M C Sampath and chief secretary K Shanmugam were present during the signing of the MoUs.

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports partners with UNICEF to strengthen resolve to mobilise 1 crore youth volunteers to achieve goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat

In a step to realise the vision of  Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mr Kiren Rijiju to mobilise 1 crore youth volunteers in India and contribute to Prime Minister’s call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports signed a Statement of Intent with YuWaah (a multi-stakeholder platform formed by the UNICEF) to work in partnership to promote volunteerism among the youth of India as well as to help them transition from education and learning to productive work, skilling and being active citizens. The partnership was launched by Ms Usha Sharma, Secretary, Youth Affairs and Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative in India in the presence of Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju.

Speaking about the importance of the partnership, Shri Kiren Rijiju said, “This partnership is very appropriate in these challenging times. I am confident that it will give a strong focus to our existing policies. The Prime Minister has laid out a clearly charted roadmap for the youth of India and given a clarion call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, which the youth of India will have to drive. India being such a young country with a huge population, the contribution of the youth in any sphere can make a huge difference, not just in India but at the global platform.”  

Kiren Rijiju further added, “The Government of India is committed to listening to young people’s opinions and ideas. These new ways of thinking are what we need to address many of India’s persisting and upcoming challenges. Towards this end, the MYAS can be an effective bridge between young people together with partners like YuWaah and the Government machinery."

The partnership will leverage both the Ministry and UN efforts to work with young people to co-create and implement solutions at scale tackling education, skilling, and unemployment challenges for young people in India. This will include collaboration on supporting young people in entrepreneurship, upskilling young people, creating linkages with aspirational socio-economic opportunities, promoting changemaking and civic participation among young people, providing career guidance support to young people, supporting direct dialogue and the establishment of a feedback mechanism between young people and policy stakeholders, and building the capacity of the NSS and NYKS cadre and volunteer force on sustainable development goals.

Speaking about the partnership, Smt Usha Sharma, Secretary, Youth Affairs said, “We, at the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, see YuWaah as a unique opportunity that can provide a platform to fulfil ambitions and dreams ‘of the youth, for the youth and with the youth’. The partnership promises to give a great platform to our NYKS, NSS volunteers, even as they get a chance to interact with global experts.” 

Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative in India, and UN Resident Coordinator a.i. said, “The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, a key stakeholder of YuWaah, has spearheaded youth development and youth participation for several decades. YuWaah, through this partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and UN agencies in India will support young people of this country to build, lead their own agendas and thrive. This especially relevant today as we need to prepare young people for a rapidly changing world, to involve them in decision making and amplify their views on issues/matters that concern their lives, inspiring them to take action.”
 

India's first of its kind public EV Charging Plaza inaugurated by Union Power Minister

With a focus on enhancing energy efficiency and promoting e-mobility, Shri R.K Singh, the Minister for Power, New & Renewable Energy, today inaugurated India’s first public EV (Electric Vehicle) charging plaza at Chelmsford Club in New Delhi. While speaking at the occasion Shri Singh said, “The EV charging plaza is a new avenue for making e-mobility ubiquitous and convenient in India. Such innovative initiatives are imperative for the creation of a robust e-mobility ecosystem in the country. My congratulations to both EESL and NDMC.”

EESL is spearheading the EV ecosystem development in India by undertaking demand aggregation for procuring EVs and identifying innovative business models for implementation of Public Charging Station (PCS). EESL in collaboration with NDMC has established India’s first of its kind public EV Charging Plaza in Central Delhi. This plaza will host 5 Electric Vehicle Chargers of different specifications.

Speaking on the inauguration of public EV plaza Shri Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, Secretary, Ministry of Power said, “The charging plaza, with its compatibility with a wide range of electric vehicles will greatly spur e-mobility adoption. This would make EV charging hassle free and convenient for the consumers, thereby making e-mobility adoption an attractive proposition.”

Union Power Minister Shri R K Singh also launched today “Retrofit of Air-conditioning to improve Indoor Air Quality for Safety and Efficiency” (RAISE) national programme. At the launch, Shri R.K Singh stated, “I believe the RAISE initiative can potentially alleviate the issue of bad air quality in workspaces across the nation and pioneer ways to make them healthier and greener. I look forward to the success of their programme and wish both EESL and USAID best of luck for their future endeavours.

Poor air quality has been a concern in India for quite some time and has become more important in light of the COVID pandemic. As people return to their offices and public spaces, maintaining good indoor air quality is essential for occupant comfort, well-being, productivity, and the overall public health.

In that context, EESL has undertaken a retrofit of its office air-conditioning and ventilation system. This is a part of the larger initiative to “Retrofit of Air-conditioning to improve Indoor air quality for Safety and Efficiency” developed for healthy and energy efficient buildings, in partnership with U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) MAITREE programme. EESL’s corporate office in Scope Complex has been taken up as a pilot for this initiative. The pilot focuses on improving indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, and energy efficiency (EE) in EESL office’s air conditioning system.

As per EESL, pilot project has shown very impressive results – about 80 per cent improvement in Air Quality parameters with almost no implementation hassles. Considering employee’s occupational health and safety is paramount in any workplace amidst the COVID-19 scenario, EESL is keen to provide such solutions across the country with standardisation and demand aggregation approach.

Both the initiatives reaffirm the pledge for ecological preservation and building a resilient energy sector, undertaken by EESL and other key stakeholders during the “#iCommit” campaign held on World Environment Day.

Indian spices' exports up by 23 percent to US$ 359 million in June, says Assocham

In the month of June 2020, India's spices exports increased by 23 per cent to Rs 2,690 crore (US$ 359 million) from Rs 2,190 crore (US$ 292 million) in the same month last year, as per the data by Assocham. A study done by the chamber also pointed out that the demand for spices is increasing in domestic market leading to a sharp increase in their prices by almost 12 per cent in June whereas the headline CPI inflation was half that level.

On the back of forex advantages, spices exporters raked in even better in domestic currency, with an increase by 34 per cent to Rs 2,721 crore (US$ 386.01 million) in June 2020 from Rs 2,030 crore (US$ 288 million) in the comparative month a year ago, the industry chamber said quoting official data.

In June 2020, the country's exports stood at US$ 21.91 billion, as compared to US$ 25.01 billion in June 2019, exhibiting a contraction of 12.41 per cent, as per the data released by the Commerce Ministry showed.

India mainly export pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin, celery, fennel, fenugreek, nutmeg, spice oils and mint products. The main importers include the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, UAE, Iran, Singapore, China, and Bangladesh, among others.

"The Prime Minister noticed how demand for spices of which India is among the main producers, is increasing as more and more people rush to strengthen immunity. Thanks to the efforts of the Aayush Ministry and traditional knowledge about spices being a strong immunity builder, an increasing number of Indians are taking to higher consumption of spices. But the rising exports trend does show how the world is benefiting from these items," said Assocham Secretary General Mr Deepak Sood.
 

Milk production is expected to rise to 330 million tons by 2024; Government trying to increase milk processing up to 40 per cent - Shri Giriraj Singh

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Shri Giriraj Singh today launched the Implementation Guidelines for Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) worth Rs 15,000 crore (US$ 2.13 billion), which was approved by the Union Cabinet on 24.06.2020 under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan stimulus package for ensuring growth in several sectors. Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi was also present on the occasion.

Thanking Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for announcing the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development fund (AHIDF), Shri Giriraj Singh said that India is engaged in breed improvement to increase milk production and on the other hand also taking care of the processing sector. India is producing milk of 188 million tonnes and by 2024 the milk production is expected to rise up to 330 million tons. Only 20-25 per cent milk is coming under processing sector and Government is trying to bring the same up to 40 per cent. He also informed that the Dairy Processing Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) is being implemented for infrastructure development in cooperative sector and AHIDF is a first type of scheme for private sector. Millions of farmers will be benefited once the infrastructure is created and more milk will be processed. This will also increase export of dairy products which is presently negligible. India needs to go up to the standards of countries like New Zealand in the Dairy sector. He expressed satisfaction that during COVID-19 lockdown, dairy farmers could maintain steady supply of milk to the consumers in the country.

Government has been implementing several schemes for incentivizing the investment made by dairy cooperative sector for development of dairy infrastructure. The AHIDF has been set up as MSMEs and Private companies also need to be promoted and incentivized for their involvement in processing and value addition infrastructure. AHIDF would facilitate much needed incentivisation of investments in establishment of such infrastructure for dairy and meat processing and value addition infrastructure and establishment of animal feed plant in the private sector.

The eligible beneficiaries under the Scheme would be Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), MSMEs, Section 8 Companies, Private Companies, and individual entrepreneurs with minimum 10 per cent margin money contribution by them. The balance 90 per cent would be the loan component to be made available by scheduled banks. Government of India will provide 3 per cent interest subvention to eligible beneficiaries. There will be 2 years moratorium period for principal loan amount and 6 years repayment period thereafter.

Government of India would also set up Credit Guarantee Fund of Rs 750 crore (US$ 106.40 million) to be managed by NABARD. Credit guarantee would be provided to those sanctioned projects which are covered under MSME defined ceilings. Guarantee Coverage would be up to 25 per cent of Credit facility of borrower. The beneficiaries intending to invest for establishing dairy and meat processing and value addition infrastructure or strengthening of the existing infrastructure can apply for loan in the scheduled bank through “Udyami Mitra” portal of SIDBI. 

There is huge potential waiting to be unlocked in investment through private sector. The Rs 15,000 crore (US$ 2.13 billion) AHIDF and the interest subvention scheme for private investors will ensure availability of capital to meet upfront investment required for these projects and help enhance overall returns/ pay back for investors. Such investments in processing and value addition infrastructure by eligible beneficiaries would also promote export of these processed and value-added commodities.

Since almost 50-60 per cent of final value of dairy output in India flows back to farmers, therefore, growth in this sector can have significant direct impact on farmer’s income. Size of dairy market and farmers’ realization from milk sales is closely linked with development of organized off-take by cooperative and private dairies. Thus, investment incentivization in AHIDF would not only leverage 7 times private investment but would also motivate farmers to invest more on inputs thereby driving higher productivity leading to increase in farmers’ incomes. The measures approved through AHIDF would also help in direct and indirect livelihood creation for 35 lakh persons.

Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi said that Government has decided to vaccinate 53.5 crore animals and 4 crore animals have already been vaccinated. Breed improvement is taking place through technology intervention. However, we are lagging in processing sector. Using the AHIDF, processing plants can be established for fodder also. This will help in doubling farmers’ incomes and contribute to achieving Hon’ble Prime Minister’s dream of a US$ 5 trillion economy.

Union HRD Minister and Minister of State for HRD jointly launch the first on-line NISHTHA programme for 1200 Key Resources Persons of Andhra Pradesh

The first on-line NISHTHA programme for 1200 Key Resources Persons of Andhra Pradesh was launched by Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriya 'Nishank’ and Minister of State for HRD Shri Sanjay Dhotre virtually in New Delhi today.

While addressing the participants the HRD Minister said that NISHTHA is a National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement at the elementary stage under Samagra Shiksha -a flagship programme of MHRD to improve learning outcomes. The Minister added that NISHTHA in face-to-face mode was launched on 21st August, 2019. Thereafter, 33 states/UTs have launched this programme in their states/UTs in collaboration under Samagra Shiksha, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. In 29 States/UTs, the NISHTHA training programme has been completed by the NCERT at the state level. In 4 States/UTs (Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, J&K and Bihar), the training at the state level is still in progress. In two states, it is yet to be launched.  District level teacher training programme has been initiated in 23 States/UTs. 

Shri Pokhriyal highlighted that around 23,000 Key Resource Persons and 17.5 lakh teachers and school heads have been covered under this NISHTHA face to face mode till date.

The Minister informed that due to COVID-19 pandemic situation, sudden lockdown has affected the conduct of this programme in face-to-face mode. Therefore, for providing training to remaining 24 lakh teachers and school heads, NISHTHA has been customized for online mode to be conducted through DIKSHA and NISHTHA portals by the NCERT. He further informed that Andhra Pradesh is the first state for which we are launching on-line NISHTHA programme for 1200 Key Resources Persons through NISHTHA portal. These resource persons will help in the mentoring of teachers of Andhra Pradesh, who will take on-line NISHTHA training on DIKSHA later on.

Shri Pokhriyal informed that the modules developed under NISHTHA focus on holistic development of children and hence include curriculum and inclusive education health and well-being, personal social qualities, art integrated learning, initiatives in school education, subject-specific pedagogies, ICT in teaching-learning, leadership, pre-school education, pre-vocational education, etc.  All the modules are centred around learning outcomes and, learner-centred pedagogy. He added that these modules are made interactive with reflective and engaging activities for teachers providing space to educational games, quizzes, etc. for joyful learning by the teachers and school heads, which in turn will motivate teachers to implement this in their classroom for enhancing students’ learning outcomes.

Shri Pokhriyal appreciated the efforts of MHRD and NCERT for building capacities of teachers and school heads at the elementary level across the country through NISHTHA. This will not only help in enhancing learning outcomes of students but also in their all-round development.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Dhotre said that the world has been developing at a rapid pace. In order to be in sync with this fast-evolving world, our teachers also need to constantly upgrade their world view, understanding, and methods of teaching.It is imperative on us to enable this as an ever-continuing process across the country in the most effective manner.

He added that our in-service teacher education system must be sensitive to the feedback from the teachers and the teachers' individual innovations must be recognised for their pedagogic values and should become part of our standard teaching methods. It is also important for us that our teachers must be very actively sensitized towards diversities of our country. Then only our children can become sensitive to the huge and different diversities is of this vast nation. With these efforts only, our children can grow up with the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat, as envisaged by our honourable Prime Minister.

He further added that technology can't replace good teachers, but good teachers assisted by technology can do wonders in transforming education. Under the visionary leadership of our prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi we are committed to ensure value-based quality education assisted by technology for realising Atmanirbhar Bharat.

 NISHTHA- online includes multiple approaches for interaction. While there are text modules alongwith videos, there will also be live sessions by the National level Resource persons on DTH Swayam Prabha TV Channel. Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) will also be utilized for interaction with teachers. Shri Dhotre congratulated the officials of NCER and MHRD for the initiative.

In NISHTHA-face-to-face, first level training had been provided by the National Resource Group (NRG) to the Key Resource Persons (KRPs) and State Resource Persons-Leadership (SRPs-L) identified by the states/UTs. The NRG had been constituted and oriented by the NCERT drawing members from the NCERT, NIEPA and KVS. KRPs and SRPs-L had provided training directly to teachers at block level reducing the cascading effect of training. In NISHTHA –online also, Key Resource Persons will play a role of mentors for the teachers.

Mobile game developer Nazara buys 51 per cent stake in Paper Boat Apps

Mobile game developer Nazara Technologies acquired a 51 per cent stake in Paper Boat Apps, which offers 'Kiddopia' learning app for pre-schoolers.

Under the transaction, Nazara invested a total of Rs 83 crore (US$ 11.77 million) in Paper Boat Apps in multiple tranches, valuing the company more than Rs 150 crore (US$ 21.28 million).

Under the deal, Paper Boat Apps has issued shares worth Rs 43 crore (US$ 6.10 million) as part of the final tranche, said Nazara founder and Managing Director Mr Nitish Mittersain.

He said, "Gamified edu-tech is the only way to deliver high-quality learning to such young kids on digital devices. Kiddopia is a perfect example of this overlap between gaming and learning, and their popularity amongst parents and kids speaks for itself".

He added that about 20 million children are already part of its ecosystem and Kiddopia will help further strengthen Nazara's position in the kid's edutainment vertical.

There has been strong growth in edu-tech start-ups across markets amid the COVID-19 pandemic as schools and educational institutions are going online to conduct classes.

"Kiddopia is fast becoming one of the most successful 'Made in India' apps globally and is seeing strong usage in the North America market apart from India. The company is also looking at rapidly expanding into other geographies such as Europe and the Far East," Mr Mittersain said.

Kiddopia was launched in 2017 by husband and wife Mr Anupam and Ms Anshu Dhanuka, who own Paper Boat Apps. So far, the app has been downloaded by more than 5 million users globally and has over 300,000 active subscribers.

"This investment has helped us focus on product enhancement and marketing, thereby leading to a 3X growth in subscriber base. We have just finished our best month and we expect our topline to grow 2X in annual revenues by March 2021," Mr Anupam Dhanuka said.

It is expected that Kiddopoa will leverage Nazara's network of 100 million monthly active users to grow its subscriber base.

"As a leading preschool app in the US, we will now use the funding to replicate our success in countries across Europe, Latin America and Asia," he added.

Nazara Technologies has been investing in the gaming ecosystem and so far, invested in many gaming firms like Nextwave Multimedia, Halaplay Technologies, Nodwin Gaming, Qunami, and Bakbuck. It has consummated transactions worth US$ 50 million in the last three years.

It holds the licensed mobile gaming rights for popular Indian IP characters like Chhota Bheem, Motu Patlu, Mighty Raju, Shikari Shambhu, Roll #21, Eena Meena Deeka, Oggy and the Cockroaches and Shin Chan in the kids' category.

Nazara is backed by investors, including West Bridge Capital, IIFL Special Opportunities Fund; Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Turtle Entertainment GmbH, the IP owner of the world's largest esports franchise (ESL).

Department of Biotechnology supported COVID 19 Vaccine -ZyCoV-D, designed and developed by Zydus, begins Adaptive Phase I/II clinical trials

Vaccine Discovery Programme supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India under the National Biopharma Mission, implemented by BIRAC moves into clinical trials

BIRAC has announced that ZyCoV-D, the plasmid DNA vaccine designed and developed by Zydus and partially funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India has initiated Phase I/ II clinical trials in healthy subjects, making it the first indigenously developed vaccine for COVID-19 to be administered in humans in India.

The adaptive Phase I/II dose escalation, multi-centric study will assess the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the vaccine. The human dosing of the vaccine marks a key milestone since the launching of the accelerated vaccine development programme for COVID-19 in February 2020.

Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, DBT and Chairperson, BIRAC said, “The Department of Biotechnology Government of India has partnered with Zydus to address rapid development of an indigenous vaccine for COVID-19 under the National Biopharma Mission. This partnership with Zydus is to serve the country’s need for a vaccine to fight the dreaded pandemic which has put a billion people at risk. Such research endeavours will help the country to develop preventive strategies for future disease outbreaks as well and exemplifies the government’s focus on creating an ecosystem that nurtures and encourages new product innovation to make real and measurable changes to issues most relevant to our society.”

She also mentioned that “This is an important milestone for AtmaNirbhar Bharat as Zydus begins human clinical trials for the indigenously developed vaccine. We hope that the vaccine continues to show positive outcomes as it has done so far in the pre-clinical phase where it was found to be safe, immunogenic, and well tolerated. This will be a big leap forward for Indian scientific research.”

Speaking on the development, Chairman of Zydus Cadila, Mr Pankaj R. Patel said, “This is a very important step in our fight against this pandemic and one that will help the nation combat this healthcare challenge. We are thankful to BIRAC and the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India for their support in our quest to provide a safe and efficacious vaccine to prevent COVID 19.”

About ZyCoV-D

In the pre-clinical phase, the vaccine was found to elicit a strong immune response in multiple animal species like mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits. The antibodies produced by the vaccine were able to neutralize the wild type virus in virus neutralization assay indicating the protective potential of the vaccine candidate. No safety concerns were observed for the vaccine candidate in repeat dose toxicology studies by both intramuscular and intradermal routes of administration. In rabbits, up to three times the intended human dose was found to be safe, well tolerated, and immunogenic.

With ZyCoV-D, the Company has successfully established the DNA vaccine platform in the country using non-replicating and non-integrating plasmid carrying the gene of interest making it very safe. Further, no vector response and with absence of any infectious agent, the platform provides ease of manufacturing the vaccine with minimal biosafety requirements (BSL-1). The platform is also known to show much improved vaccine stability and lower cold chain requirements making it easy for transportation to remotest regions of the country. Furthermore, the platform can be rapidly used to modify the vaccine in couple of weeks in case thevirus mutates to ensure that the vaccine still elicits protection.

About National Biopharma Mission, DBT:

The Industry-Academia Collaborative Mission of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt of India for accelerating discovery research to early development for Biopharmaceuticals approved by the Cabinet for a total cost US$ 250 million and 50 per cent co-funded by the World Bank is being implemented at Biotechnology Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). This program is dedicated to deliver affordable products to the nation with an aim to improve the health standards of India’s population. Vaccines, medical devices, and diagnostics and biotherapeutics are few of its most important domains, besides, strengthening the clinical trial capacity and building technology transfer capabilities in the country.

About BIRAC:

Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is a not-for-profit Section 8, Schedule B, Public Sector Enterprise, set up by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India as an Interface Agency to strengthen and empower the emerging Biotech enterprise to undertake strategic research and innovation, addressing nationally relevant product development needs. To find out more visit https://birac.nic.in

About Zydus

Zydus Cadila is an innovative, global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets a broad range of healthcare therapies, including small molecule drugs, biologic therapeutics, and vaccines.