February 26, 2002
‘13’
PLANNING COMMISSION FAVOURS EXPLOITATION OF FULL BT POTENTIAL
The Planning Commission is in favour of exploiting the full potential of biotechnology for the common good of the society. This was stated by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Shri K.C. Pant while inaugurating a two-day international conference on "Biotechnology and Development; Challenges and Opportunities for Asia" organised by the Research and Information System (RIS) for the Non-Aligned and other developing countries, here today. Shri Pant said that biotechnology holds out a great promise for ensuring food, health and nutritional security. It is already being increasingly applied for raising and diversifying farm productivity.
Referring to the new advances in this frontier area, Shri Pant said that its growth in the past two decades has raised high hopes as well as anxieties about its potential and its implications. Biotechnology also offers new opportunities for global partnerships to serve the needs of sustainable development. Most developing countries are yet to pass adequate legislations for bio-safety and cooperation among Asian countries becomes very relevant, he said.
Addressing the conference the Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Dr. Manju Sharma said the Asian region is plagued by malnutrition while at the same time its strength lies in vast bio-resources and bio-diversity, huge human capital and the realisation by all the countries of the region that only through s&t intervention poverty can be tackled agricultural production raised and health security ensured. To realise the full potential of biotechnology we have to go a long way in conducting basic research on all aspects of modern biology, keeping in mind the ethical safety and social concerns, she said.
The Director General of RIS Dr. V.R. Panchamukhi thanked the Department of Biotechnology for agreeing to support the publication of the quarterly journal, Biotechnology And Development Review (BDR) for the next three years. The BDR is now being relaunched as Asian Biotechnology and Development Review.