How Bio RRAP portal could boost biological R&D in India

The central government has recently launched the Biological Research Regulatory Approval Portal (BioRRAP) which will cater to all those seeking regulatory approval for biological research and development activity in the country and thus offer a huge relief for 'ease of science as well as ease of business. Launched in line with the central government's 'one nation, one portal' initiative, BioRRAP will also allow stakeholders to see the approvals accorded against a particular application through a unique BioRRAP ID. This unique portal of the department of biotechnology (DBT) is a step towards ease of doing science and scientific research and ease of startups in India. The portal will help to strengthen the interdepartmental synergies and will also bring transparency, accountability, and efficacy to the functioning of various agencies that are regulating the various aspects of biological research and also issuing permissions. This portal is in line with the government's 'ease of startup' and 'ease of doing science and scientific research'. Through this portal, researchers will be able to check the stages of approval of their respective applications for the purpose of getting regulatory clearance. This portal will be generating BioRRAP ID for all the submitted research applications on this portal. Using this ID, stakeholders can initiate further submission processes to the respective regulatory bodies. This portal is only for research-related activities and cannot be used for the purpose of product development.

The launch of BioRRAP, a single national portal to track regulatory approvals for biological research in the country, is a significant step by the central government as India is poised to become a global bio-manufacturing hub and will figure among the top five countries of the world by 2025. Also, by the year 2025, the Indian biotechnology industry is expected to cross USD 150 billion. At present, India is among the top 12 destinations for biotechnology globally and 3rd largest biotechnology destination in the Asia Pacific region. By 2025, the contribution of the Indian biotechnology industry in the global biotechnology market is expected to grow to 19 per cent from a mere 3 per cent in 2017. Likewise, the Bio Economy's contribution to the national GDP has also grown steadily in the past years to 2.7 per cent in 2020 from 1.7 per cent in 2017 and will touch new heights after 25 years of Bio-economy journey in the Centenary year of 2047.

In India, during the last some years, bio-technology has fast emerged as an academic and livelihood avenue for youngsters and there are over 2,700 biotech start-ups and more than 2,500 biotech companies working at present in the country. It is noteworthy to note that the biotech researchers, industry and the regulators have done a laudable work during the Covid-19 pandemic in the last more than two years. During the pandemic, it was observed that there was need to link the applications submitted to various regulatory agencies for approval so as status of application may be seen at one place. Further, it was also felt that as a country there should have repository of the research works being undertaken by the researchers working in public and private sector. This will not only help the country in understanding its scientific strength and expertise but also in formulation of enabling policies to garner the fruits of scientific research.

The launch of the portal is also important at this stage as other than biotechnology, biological work related to biodiversity, latest methods of conservation and protection of flora and fauna, forest and wildlife, bio-survey and bio-utilization of biological resources are also gaining momentum in India due to effect of climate change on them. Research in the various biological fields is continuously expanding its vista in India supported by the grants from various public and private sector institutions. Many of these research falls under the purview of one or more regulatory agencies which first approve the research proposal after which researcher undertakes that specific research. But, unfortunately, at present there is no mechanism to track the requisite regulatory approval for a research proposal on a single portal. In such a background, the launch of BioRRAP will have a key role to play to provide more credibility and recognition to such biological researches. The portal will serve as a gateway and will help researcher to see stage of approval of their applications for regulatory clearances and to see preliminary information on all the research work being undertaken by the particular researcher or organization. Undoubtedly, the launch of BioRRAP will prove to be a huge relief for biological R&D activities in the country in the long run.

(The author is freelance journalist with varied experience in different fields)