Correspondence: Dr Viren Konde, MITCON Institute of Management, Opp. Shivchattrapati Krida Sankul, Near Octroi Naka, Bypass Highway, Balewadi, Pune 411 045, India. Tel: +91 20 66289600; Fax: +91 20 66289801; E-mail: virenkonde@gmail.com Website: http://www.mima.edu.in

¹is an Assistant Professor at the MITCON Institute of Management Pune, India. After his PhD in Biotechnology, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Houston, Texas, USA, and L.C.B.-C.N.R.S., Marseille, France. He has worked in the areas of molecular neurobiology and bacteriology. Presently, he teaches subjects like the business of biotechnology and bioinformatics at the postgraduate level.

Received 10 September 2007; Revised 10 September 2007; Published online 27 November 2007.

Abstract

As the purpose of this study was a survey of public sector–private industry collaborations of the biotechnology sector in India, an organisational and functional overview of this sector was needed. Therefore, rather than studying a hypothetical biotech sector in India, the focus of this work was to study the public–private partnerships (PPP) that are occurring in India in the area of modern biotechnology. The Indian Government has been playing an important role in the development of the Biotech sector from the very beginning and there are large numbers of R&D institutions (Scientific, Medical, Industrial and Agricultural) that have been set up by the Government during the past 2–3 decades. The Indian Biotechnology industry is advancing towards new heights in alignment with the growth and progression observed globally. The past performance of the industry indicates that it has surpassed the growth rate of many other industries. This paper also highlights the favourable national policies undertaken to strengthen the Indian biotechnology industry. It is in this context that the paper shows that these collaborations are an expression of more general trends towards a changing role of the country in economic production.