The central government has approved the launch of the ‘Biotechnology Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (Bio-RIDE)’ scheme of the Department of Biotechnology(DBT), Union Ministry of Science and Technology. The two existing schemes of the DBT have been merged, and a new component, Biomanufacturing and Biofoundry, has been added to the Bio-RIDE scheme.
The newly approved Bio-RIDE merges the two previous DBT schemes and includes one new component.
The components of the scheme are;
Biomanufacturing and Biofoundry are the newly introduced components of the Bio-RIDE scheme.
Biomanufacturing refers to using biological systems (living organisms, animal/ plant cells, tissues, enzymes, etc.) to manufacture commercially important biomolecules for use in food, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, energy, etc. It is an interdisciplinary field that involves microbiology, biochemistry, and chemical engineering.
A foundry is a factory where metals are melted and poured into specially constructed containers to produce the desired objects. Similarly, in a bio-foundry, the DNA of the organisms is used and manipulated to create the desired biotechnology product.
In a Bio-Foundry, all biomanufacturing processes are highly automated, which helps accelerate the design-build–test–learning workflow to deliver products quickly and efficiently.