Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) celebrated 23rd Foundation Day by organizing seminar on “Bioeconomy from Bioresources: Promoting Bioentrepreneurship in NER for Viksit Bharat”. IBSD is the only institute in Northeastern Region of India in the ambit of Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC) under the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India which was established on April 26, 2001 at Imphal, Manipur. This Institute is not only serving the people of Manipur in Northeast but also has three different Centres at Gangtok in Sikkim, Shillong in Meghalaya and Aizawl in Mizoram.

While delivering his welcome speech Prof. Pulok Kumar Mukherjee, Director, IBSD, highlighted about the scientific progress and outreach activities performed by the Institute. He also mentioned about the new initiatives of IBSD including Phytopharmaceutical Mission, Himalayan Bioresources Mission, Synergy Mission and Network Pharmacology for the development of bioresources of the region. Prof. Mukherjee highlighted about the MoUs signed with 29 International/National institutes for collaborative research in this region of India.

The Chief Guest of the programme, Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale, Director General, BRIC & Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India appreciated the research and outreach activities of IBSD for the development of bioeconomy from bioresources. He mentioned that IBSD has initiated many collaborations for translational research for bioresources and traditional medicines for the development of products/ processes.

He highlighted various challenges and opportunities in bioresources research which can be taken forward for biomanufacturing. The Guest of Honor, Dr. Jitendra Kumar, MD, BIRAC, Govt. of India, New Delhi mentioned the various bioresources of NER with bioeconomic potential. He highlighted various schemes of BIRAC including Biotechnology Ignition grant for promoting startups in NER. He mentioned that IBSD should focus on training and outreach activities for development of bio-entrepreneurship through BIRAC programmes in all states of NER. Dr. Umesh Varshney, Honorary Professor, Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru shared his experiences and ideas for the development of microbial bioresources of the region.

Dr. Zavie Hiese, Former Director, Nagaland Science and Technology Council (NASTEC), Kohima, Nagaland congratulated Director, Scientists, scholars and staffs of IBSD on this foundation day. He highlighted the various edible insects of NER which can be taken up by the institute for value addition. Prof. Debasisa Mohanty, Director, BRIC-National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi appreciated the efforts of Prof. Pulok K Mukherjee for initiating Phytopharmaceutical Mission for the validation of traditional medicines of NER. Prof. S. R. Joshi Professor, Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya highlighted various research opportunities for young researchers of the region. He appreciated various activities of BioNEST incubator for promoting women entrepreneurs of Meghalaya. The inaugural programme was followed by lab visit for the students. The programme was attended by women entrepreneurs, beneficiaries, officials, scientists, scholars and staff of IBSD.