Traditionally, West Bengal has been in the forefront of quite a few industrial upswings, and after almost 2 decades of chaos and dormancy, the West Bengal industries are getting a shake up. However, a new domain of excellence and mastery is needed for the Bengal entrepreneurs, and industrialists – as also for the Government. The best field to look for is the Biotechnology sector, West Bengal has the potential of being a Biotechnology giant in the near future, if proper initiative is taken.

Here are some of the advantage that West Bengal has for the setting up of the Biotechnology industries ….

Biodiversity:

West Bengal has an immense resource in terms of it’s biodiversity, be it genetic diversity, habitat diversity or species richness.

The habitats vary from the green ranges of Eastern Himalayas and the Terai forests, through to the alluvial plains and lush green crops of Central and Southern districts, or the largest Mangrove swamps of the Sunderbans, or even the stretches of Chhotanagpur plateau in the Western fringers of the state. The forests are home to the mammals like the Bengal Tiger, the Asian Elephant, the one horned Rhino, the Cheetal Deer and hundred other smaller mammals birds, and reptiles. The rivers and estuaries have the giant reptiles like the Gavial, the marsh crocodile, several turtle species as also the gangetic porpoise. In all West Bengal can boast of an large faunal diversity. But even that takes a back seat to the immense floral diversity that it harbors. Probably one of the greenest places in South Asia, West Bengal is just with tropical, subtropical and estuarine flora. The Sunderbans with it’s mangrove trees are probably the most well known example of all. All this diversity of life forms and habitats are precious potential resources for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology industries.

Economic Biology:

West Bengal is home to the famous Darjeeling tea grown in the northern District of Darjeeling. Also tea plantations in northern districts, Mango and other fruit cultivers in the Central and Southern districts, Rice and Jute crops of the Southern districts, and other diverse cultivers like potato, pulses, lentils, fruits, oilseeds, green vegetables etc. add up to the remarkable crop diversity of West Bengal.

There are huge potentialities for improvement in crop yield, food value, resistance etc. through Biotechnological means. Home to the largest inland pisciculture and traditional sericulture and dairy production, the potential for a Biotechnology generated boom in the fields of Animal Husbandry is considerable too.

Climate and Land:

The climate in West Bengal is tropical and Monsoon governed, and is immensely enjoyable. Rainfall is high, there is ample sunshine and weather conditions are warm and not too humid. The land profile ranges from the sedimentary rocks of the Eastern Himalayas to the alluvial soils of Central and Southern Bengal, with an abundance of rivers, rivulets, tributaries, water availability is quite high too. This is indeed encouraging for any bio-based industry.

Infrastructure:

West Bengal is currently one of the most power rich states in the country. Railroads are quite extensive and surface transport is improving day by day. With several projects nearing completion and quite a few more in the pipeline the conditions for the road and riverline transport are becoming more economical. Transport of bio-materials across the state is easier in West Bengal than most other states.

Social Conditions:

The State has quite a high rate of literacy (around 70%), and social awareness about scientific techniques is considerably high. A stable government, a successful land reforms program and a greatly decentralised rural administrrative structure provide ideal conditions for transport of information back and forth between the farmer’s field and industrial (Scientific and production) sector. Also transfer of newly invented techniques and products from the industries and their applications in the ruarl market will be far faster in West bengal.

Intellectual Resources:

The middle class in West Bengal are more academically oriented than in other states, resulting in a high presence of Bengal is in National and International academic and research circles. Science students have a natural inclination towards creative researches and development and are quite conscious of their social responsibilities. The well-known "Bnegali Culture" And the educated middle class has important intellectual resources as well as skilled manpower to offer to any incoming bio-tech industries.

Market Demands:

Apart from the global market scenario, the strong demands in agri-buisiness for better quality and high yielding bio-engineered crop plants, animals are ever increasing in India. With the advent of gene therapy, gene targeting and molecular medicine, new oppertunities and ways have opened up to tackle the old nemeses in India namely Maleria, Tuberculosis, Cholera, Typhoid and the newer diseases like AIDS. Advance technologies in space research, defence, biocomputation and electronics have substantial markets both outside and at home for successful development of biotech industries.

Location:

The state is strategically placed between South-East Asia, China, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka and has an open gateway through to other South Asian countries in the form of Bay of Bengal is considerably easy.

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