An Introduction to Biotechnology | Biotechnology in India | Class 11 Biotechnology

• Biotechnology refers to the different technologies that make use of living cells and/or biological molecules to generate useful products for the benefit of mankind.

 • The beginning of cultivation of crops as early as in the Paleolithic Era, around 10,000 years ago, marks the introduction of biotechnology and is commonly referred to as ancient biotechnology.

 • Production of bread, cheese, wine, vinegar, beer, etc., is the contribution of ancient biotechnology.

• Modern biotechnology is based on recombinant DNA technology which allows scientists to cut and join different pieces of DNA and place the new recombinant DNA into a new host allowing the transfer of gene(s) from one organism to another conferring a novel property. 

• Modern biotechnology has its applications in numerous fields such as Agricultural Crop Improvement, Food Innovations, Diagnostics Healthcare, Animal Husbandry, and Energy and Environment Management.

 • The different streams of modern biotechnology are Genetic Engineering, Protein Engineering, Bio-informatics, Immunology, Plant/Animal cell culture, Biochemistry, Cancer Biology, Environmental Biology, Marine Biology, Nano Biotechnology, Bio-physics, Pharmacology and Toxicity, Cell Biology, Microbiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Genetics. 

• The Government of India constituted the National Biotechnology Board in 1982 which was subsequently upgraded to Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in 1986. DBT has established several major research institutions all over India. 

• Indian biotechnology industry is one of the fastest growing industries of the country, presently ranked among the top 12 biotechnology powers in the world and third biggest industry in Asia Pacific in terms of industrial biotechnology infrastructure. 

• Indian biotechnology industry has made significant contributions in the field of Vaccine production, Therapeutics, Agriculture sector, and Bio-services.