New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS): From just 50 biotech startups in 2014 in India, the ecosystem has grown to nearly 9,000 in the last decade, said Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

At an event held in the national capital, Singh attributed the increase to the remarkable growth in bio-economy in the last 10 years -- from $10 billion in 2014 to over $130 billion in 2024. The bio-economy industry is expected to reach $300 billion by 2030.

“With the kind of threat of pollution, the climate challenges, etc., being faced, this government has held sustainability at a very high priority. This is quite contrary to the times till about 10-15 years ago when India was not taken very seriously as far as issues like climate or the green concerns because they thought either India was alien to it or maybe we didn’t understand the seriousness of it,”

Singh noted that “sustainability” is of high priority for the government amid the continuing threat of “pollution, and the climate change challenges”.

He also highlighted India’s aim to achieve a net zero target by 2070, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at COP-26 in 2021.

Singh informed that in the last few years, the government has undertaken several initiatives towards sustainability. This includes the Green Hydrogen mission, the mission for climate change, and the deep sea mission.

The government's recently introduced ‘BioE3 Policy’ is also an important step forward towards sustainable growth in the backdrop of climate change, depleting non-renewable resources and unsustainable waste generation.

“The rise of biotech startups is pivotal for our future economy. These efforts place India at the forefront of the global bioplastics movement, showing the world how biotechnology can contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable future,” Singh said, in October.