Biotechnology-the Emerging Field

Biotechnology as a career is growing very rapidly and has given new dimension to career of science graduates. For starters , biotechnology is a interdisciplinary science including not only biology, but also subjects like mathematics, physics, chemistry and engineering. It is a blend of various technologies applied together to living cells for production of a particular product or for improving upon it. It is also concerned with many other subjects like Health and Medicine, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Cropping system and Crop Management, Ecology, Cell Biology, Soil science and Soil Conservation, Bio-statistics, Plant Physiology, Seed Technology etc.

There are sub-fields in biotechnology.Red Biotechnology which can be practical to medical processes. Say making organisms suitable to manufacture antibiotics, and the engineering of genetic cures to heal diseases using ‘genomic manipulation’. White Biotechnology , (also grey biotechnology), is biotechnology applied to industrial processes. Say using an organism to produce a useful chemical. The next in this group is Green Biotechnology which is generally useful to agricultural processes. Bioinformatics is another field allied to Biotechnology which generally addresses biological problems deploying computational techniques (also called computational biology). Another is blue biotechnology, which is application of Biotechnology in the marine and aquatic division.

Students with solid background in science at the intermediate level can take up:
B.Tech in Biotechnology

(In India, some universities offer the B.Sc biotechnology which one can join after class 12 or equivalent examination, with physics, chemistry and mathematics.)

M.Sc. Biotechnology

Graduates in all sciences/engineering technology/medicine are eligible for the postgraduate course
M.Sc. (Agriculture) Biotechnology
M.V.Sc. (Animal) Biotechnology
M.Tech. Biotechnology, M.Sc./M.V.Sc. Veterinary Biotechnology
M.Sc. (Marine) Biotechnology
Medical Biotechnology
M.Tech. in Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology and

(Integrated M.Tech. programme if offered at IIT Delhi and Kharagpur through a Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), for those who have successfully completed the 10+2 with physics, chemistry and mathematics. For admission to IIT, a pass in the IIT-JEE is required.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, AIIMS, Jadavpur University, Kolkata and Anna University also offers integrated M.Tech course.)

To get information about JNU entrance examinations contact:
Dr. S. ChandrasekaranCoordinator (Evaluation) Academic, Administrative BuildingJNU, New Delhi – 110 067

and finally Ph.D. and Post-DoctoralResearch in Biotechnology

B.Sc course is of 3 years. One needs Two years to complete the M.Sc. course. B.Tech. course is of four years duration and five year for integrated M.Tech. programme offered at IIT Delhi and Kharagpur.
As said the field does not bring good money at the start.In the corporate sector, fresh IIT pass outs may get anything from Rs. 70,000 p.a. to Rs. 85,000 p.a. and fresh B.Sc./B. Tech. graduates from other universities may get anything in the range of Rs. 50,000 p.a. to Rs. 70,000 p.a. Those workimg in the research institutes can expect something around Rs. 60,000 p.a. But as you grow in experience your paycheque gets bigger.

Colleges offering BSc in biotechnology:

Lovely Professional University, Punjab, (Punjab)
Jalandhar-Ludhiana G.T road, Near chaheru Railway Bridge, Phagwara, Punjab
Microtek College of Paramedical Science, Varanasi, (Uttar Pradesh)
Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, (Andhra Pradesh)
Visakhapatnam
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, (Punjab)
Patna University, Patna, (Bihar), Patna
Sai College Of Medical Science & Technology, (Uttar Pradesh)
Opp Chaubepur Police Station, Chaubepur,Kanpur-209203
Sindhu Mahvidyalaya, (Maharashtra)Nagpur, Maharashtra
University of Madras, Chennai, (Tamil Nadu),
Centenary Building, Chepauk, Triplicane P O, Chennai


Colleges offering MSc courses:
ICAR, New Delhi
M. Sc. Agricultural Biotechnology
http://www.icar.org.in/
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
M.Sc. in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology http://www.du.ac.in/
PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY
M.Sc. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biotechnology http://www.pondiuni.org/
UNIVERSITY OF HYDERABAD
M.Sc. in Biochemistry, Plant Biotechnology and Animal Biotechnology
http://www.uohyd.ernet.in/
ACBR, University of Delhi
M. Sc. In Biomedical http://www.acbrdu.edu/
AIIMS, New Delhi
M. Sc. In Biotechnology http://www.aiims.ac.in/
PGI, Chandigarh
M. Sc. In Biochemistry / Biotechnology http://www.pgimer.nic.in/


There are institutes who offer courses (and jobs too – in research field and teaching position). The main institutes who offer research assistance in India include Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad ; Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), Imphal, Manipur ; Institute of Life Sciences, Bhuvaneswar ; National Institute Of Immunology, New Delhi ; National Centre For Plant Genome Research (NCPGR), JNU, New Delhi ; National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Gurgaon ; National Centre for Cell Sciences, Pune

For related careers,also see
Oceanography