India's biotech industry "is well on its way" to become a five-billion dollar industry by this year end, Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said today.

"We are well on track," Mazumdar-Shaw said during the inauguration of biotech event Bangalore India Bio-2010. The figures are in keeping with the forecast made a decade ago, she said.

The standalone BT sector was valued at 3 billion dollars in 2010 and it registered a growth of 20 per cent last fiscal.

Along with ancillary industries, including data management and equipment manufacturing, the size of the BT industry was four billion dollars.

The ancillary industries witnessed a robust growth of 40 per cent, she said.

She said climate change and clean energy were turning out to be huge opportunities for BT.

India with its cost advantages, high delivery value, skilled and trained manpower, high market potential was turning into an attractive investment destination, she said.

Karnataka constitutes 50 per cent of the BT firms in India. Out of 380 BT companies, 198 are in Karnataka out of which 191 of them are in Bangalore, she said.

Karnataka had added 11 BT firms over the 12 months while the rest of India added 32 firms. The state attracted investments to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore in the last one year, including Rs 250 crore by Kemwell Biopharma, Rs 550 crore by HP for a proposed green R&D centre for clean energy, Rs 250 core from Bangalore Helix and Rs 200 crore by Biocon

Speaking on the occasion, Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa said "biotech sector in India enjoyed a comfortable position both in terms of growth and revenue".

Karnataka accounted for almost 26 per cent of the revenue, he said.

The state had become the biggest BT hub of the country and five out of the top 10 Indian BT companies were located in Bangalore. "The proactive millennium biotech policy of 2001 led the growth story and also laid strong foundations", he said.

The state had revised its biotech policy and announced several fiscal incentives and concessions for the sector in the revised policy released last year. "We have proposed to set up a bio venture fund of 10 mn US dollars", he said.

Ten BT finishing schools would be set up during the year.

Sector specific biotech parks would be set up in Mysore, Manglore, Dharwad and Bidar. Biocluster part of the Bangalore Biotech park would eb developed on PPP mode. The process for seleciton of developer is the final stages, he said.

The Centre had approved setting up of a Bio-IT centre. This project is beinge established in collaboration with JNCSAR, Strand Life Sciences and Centre for Human Genetics and Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology. "The Bio-IT centre will endeavour to cut down over 30 per cent of the time in drug discovery process. The five million dollar project would be jointly funded by Government of India and the state government", he said.

A provision of one million dollar has been made in the budget as state support for the project, he said.

Twenty one IT and BT projects with investment proposals of 2.5 billion USD have been cleared by the state and MoUs in this respect were expected to be signed during the two day Global Investors Meet to be held from tomorrow.

Speaking on the occasion, Samir Brahmachari, DG, CSIR, underlined need for inclusive innovation that benefitted those at the bottom of the pyramid.

On the occasion, Yeddyurappa presented letter of intents to two BT finishing schools.

The event witnessed participation of 20 countries and 700 delegates. Around 800 bio-partnering meetings have been arranged.