Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel unveils new ‘Gujarat Biotechnology Policy 2022-27’ with a commitment to promote rapid and inclusive growth in the biotechnology industry in Gujarat.

Shri Jitu Vaghani, State Minister of Education, Science & Technology, accompanied the Chief Minister during the launch of new policy at Science City, Ahmedabad.

British Deputy High Commissioner to Gujarat Mr. Peter Cook, Chief Secretary Shri Pankaj Kumar, Senior Secretaries, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology Shri Vijay Nehra, representatives of nationally and internationally renowned institutes, and representatives from biotechnology industry were also present at the event.

Shri Bhupendra Patel said that, “being a policy driven and business-friendly state, Gujarat has remained at the industry forefront in the country. New forms of entrepreneurship have emerged with the adoption of science and technology in the state.”

As the biotechnology market is showing an upward trajectory worldwide, the state government has mapped out its new Biotechnology Policy today to spur the related industries in Gujarat.

“Biotechnology has made significant contributions in solving new-age problems, especially in the field of health and agriculture. The science-driven industry has been instrumental in understanding and fighting the global COVID-19 pandemic. It was due to biotechnology that we got effective rapid antigen tests, RT-PCR tests, vaccines, etc,” the CM added.

He asserted that the objective of this new Biotechnology Policy is to make Gujarat competitive in biotechnology market in the state and maximise the benefits.

Listing out the details, the Chief Minister added that, “various stakeholders such as educational institutes, research institutes, start-ups and entrepreneurs were consulted for this policy to attract more investments in the field of biotechnology. Their valuable suggestions were considered in Biotechnology Policy 2022-27.”

He further said that Biotechnology Policy has been formulated keeping the national policy and strategies in mind. The new policy will promote partnerships between various stakeholders such as NGOs, scientific establishments and industries. It also includes various financial assistance for technology acquisition, skill development, alternative energy production, quality certification, and bandwidth leasing, to make Gujarat’s biotechnology industry world class. The previous policy did not include such assistance.

The Chief Minister said that, “frontier technologies of the industry have been covered in this policy. Besides, the list of biotechnology products and services have been extended. This policy will encourage the fields of biotechnology research ranging from bioplastics to gene splicing and stem cell therapy in the state.”

Besides, the new policy will further strengthen the ecosystem by providing support to the special projects such as pre-clinical testing, genome sequencing in private sector, plug and play facilities, private sector BSL-3 lab-vaccine development, and manufacturing, testing and certification laboratories.
Special features of the Gujarat Biotechnology Policy (2022-27) are as under:

● Through the innovative CAPEX and OPEX models, the overall support rate and the amount of support have been significantly increased.

● To realise Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, strategic projects and mega/large projects have been given special importance by giving special packages. This will attract new investment through anchor units and existing industries and create new employment opportunities in the state.

● MSMEs with a capital investment of less than Rs. 200 crore will be given maximum assistance of Rs. 40 crore and mega/large projects with a capital investment of more than Rs. 200 crore as well as special projects like ecosystem empowerment, emerging technologies in challenging areas and of strategic importance will be given assistance of up to 25% of the total capital expenditure up to a maximum of Rs. 200 crore. This assistance will be provided in the form of 20 quarterly instalments over a period of 5 years.

● MSMEs with a capital investment of less than Rs. 200 crore will be given assistance of maximum of Rs. 5 crore per annum. Mega/large projects with a capital investment of more than Rs. 200 crore and special projects like ecosystem empowerment etc will be given assistance of up to 15% of the total operating cost up to a maximum of Rs. 25 crore per annum. This assistance includes expenses for Power Tariff, Patent Assistance, Marketing Development Assistance, Lease Rental Subsidy, Bandwidth Leasing, and Quality Certification.

● As per the special provisions made in this Biotechnology Policy:
o Encouraging employees: Each local man and woman who has been associated with the applicant company for more than one year will be given assistance of Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 60,000 respectively.

o Employment Provident Fund: 100% and 75% reimbursement respectively for each female and male employee on the Employment Provident Fund paid by the applicant company.

o Interest Subsidy on term loan: Quarterly return at the rate of 7% against interest paid on term loans of up to Rs. 100 crore, with an annual ceiling of Rs. 7 crore. Besides, quarterly return at the rate of 3% against interest paid on term loans of above Rs.100 crore, with an annual ceiling of Rs.20 crore.

o Electricity Duty: 100% reimbursement for five years on the electricity duty paid.

● Industries manufacturing the products which are not being manufactured in the country will be covered under strategically important projects. The provision has been made to give additional assistance to these industries through special packages of ecosystem empowerment and mega/large projects.

● The projects approved under the special package will provide comprehensive facilities for land allotment and other basic infrastructure related needs like approach road, water supply, electricity, sewerage, etc. through inter-departmental coordination of state government and single point of contact.

Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel has emphasised that he is committed to realise the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Gujarat se Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ through a biotechnology driven economy and this New Biotechnology Policy.