CCMB works on low GI rice variety

Hyderabad: Dr Vinay Nandcoori, director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), said that the research institute was working on developing new plant varieties, such as the improved Sama Masuri rice (grown in Chhattisgarh), which has a low glycemic index and is resistant to bacterial infections.

“We are continuously working on creating plants with better yields and resistance to environmental stresses like drought and salt,” he told Deccan Chronicle on the sidelines the 16th edition of Isbacon, a major forum for incubators, entrepreneurs, and government officials in the science and technology sector.

“Genome editing is a tool we utilise in various projects. For instance, we've tested nearly 3 million people to study sickle cell anemia. We're also working on tuberculosis, participating in a project that involves sequencing 31,000 clinical strains," Dr Nandcoori said.

Dr Ullas Kolthur, director, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDF), highlighted a lesser-known contribution of the instition: Its involvement in the export of Basmati rice. All Basmati exports from India must be validated by CDFD to ensure the authenticity of the product.

Dr Kolthur said that the CDFD was launching an initiative to barcode indigenous plants with nutritional and medicinal properties. "By identifying these rare species, we can harness their potential for developing new chemical entities that could benefit local populations and fuel innovation in bioeconomy sectors, including start-ups.”

The Isbacon returned to Hyderabad after 17 years. The event was inaugurated on Friday at the IICT-CCMB campus, with directors from IICT, CCMB, CDFD, and the Union department of science and technology, discussing the importance of supporting startups and fostering innovation through incubation.

ISBA, the Indian STEPs and Business Incubators Association, was established in 2004 and now includes over 150 member organisations. The three-day conference, which attracted more than 250 delegates from India and across Asia, featured the release of significant reports and the signing of key MoUs.

Dr K. Suresh Kumar, ISBA president, commented on a report developed in collaboration with IIT Mandi, stating, "The main objective of the study is to understand the entrepreneurship culture in educational institutions, how students are preferring to become start-ups, and what percentage of students pursue start-ups."

Praveen Roy, Scientist ‘G’ National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board, remarked, "India has been a pioneer in setting up incubators. We have over 180 incubators in academic set-ups. We are promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and startup culture, shifting academic research from a focus on PhDs and research papers to applied, translational research that solves societal challenges."

The conference brought together the members of the Asian Association of Business Interpreters and the delegates representing Asian countries with whom ISBA is collaborating.

Jitendra Kumar, MD of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, emphasised Telangana's role in fostering start-ups: "Telangana was an early leader in India's start-up ecosystem, establishing key incubation centers like ICICI Knowledge Park in 2006. In 2009, there were 300 start-ups; now, there are 8,500 in life sciences alone. Altogether, 1,40,000 start-ups are registered in DPIT, but the actual number may be much higher."