New Delhi, March 19 Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday laid the foundation stone of a dedicated BioFoundry Centre under the Department of Biotechnology in Mohali, with an estimated budget of around Rs 42 crore.
The facility will serve as a national platform for developing and scaling advanced biomanufacturing processes, particularly in agri-food biotechnology, including smart proteins, bio-inputs, and bio-based products.
"This centre will help bridge laboratory research with industrial-scale applications and strengthen India's bioeconomy," said the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology.
The BioFoundry Centre is being established at the National Agri-Food and Biomanufacturing Institute (NABI), Mohali, and will house advanced infrastructure, including large-scale fermenters, upstream and downstream processing systems, and high-throughput experimental platforms.
The facility will support startups and industry through scale-up, pre-commercialisation, and technology transfer, while also serving as a skill development hub for young professionals in biotechnology.
The minister also noted that NABI has emerged as a key institution in India's biotechnology landscape, particularly in translating scientific research into solutions for agriculture, food, and nutrition.
The institute's work across genomics, microbial biotechnology, food science, and bioinformatics is directly contributing to nutritional security, sustainable agriculture, and value addition in agri-food systems, he added.
The minister stated that institutions like NABI, along with enabling infrastructure like the BioFoundry, are helping create a strong innovation ecosystem in the country.