A Tribute to the Founder of DBT : Dr. Ramachandran | Man Who Laid the Foundation for Indian Biotech Sector
Around 40 years ago, the two newbies Biotechnology & Information Technology entered the scene as new additions to the field of Science and Technology. They managed to captivate the scientific community with new concepts and breakthroughs, leading to the involvement of some of the best minds in the field. And India had been a constant contributor to both these fields, something which every Indian should be proud of.
People at the helm of affairs in India understood the value of this new science already by 1980, and decided to set up machinery to promote it.
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In 1982, the National Biotechnology Board (NBTB) was setup through the combined efforts of the Planning Commission the Ministry of Science and Technology.
They handpicked and invited Dr. S Ramachandran (then at the Bengal Immunity in Calcutta) to join it as its Member Secretary.
” He was the right man, at the right time, at the right place, with the sole task of doing the right thing “
We, as Indians and as part of the scientific community, pay homage to this great soul, who passed away last month at the age of 82.
In memory of Dr. Ramachandran, let’s look back on his stellar contributions to promote and sustain this field of biotechnology as the Founder Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) from 1986.
During the early years of Biotechnology in India, many biologists of the younger generation learnt the techniques and theory of the then blossoming field abroad, and came back home looking for opportunities to employ their new skill sets. Being the man who was there at the right time, Dr. Ramachandran understood this and nurtured them with passion at several universities and research centres such Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru, Madurai Kamaraj University, M S University Baroda, Anna University Chennai, JNU Delhi, University of Delhi South Campus, Pune University, University of Hyderabad, as well as the CCMB at Hyderabad and ImTech Chandigarh to name just a few.
One of his students, Mr. D Balasubramanian remembers his fondness of classical music and his infectious can-do attitude. But he was a tough taskmaster as well, displeased with half-baked answers and less than perfect results. Despite this, when he met Dr. Ramachandran again as a Fogarty Visiting Scientist at the NIH in in Bethesda, MD, USA, he reminisces on his ever-present smile and passion for bringing all things biology to India.
He helped organise lectures, workshops and hands-on practical courses, pushed people to write text books in biotechnology and offered grants for equipment and lab facilities. All this and more was done as quickly as possible and always with a smile, and above and beyond all of this, he was usually there on the spot, encouraging youngsters. Much of the advances these centres lately have largely been due to the initiative of Dr. Ramachandran, and several of “Biotech Hotshot” companies in India owe their stature to the leg-up that he offered them.
Ramachandran realized the importance of combining biology with the other newbie of science, Information Technology. He joined Dr. N Seshagiri (then secretary of National Informatics Centre) and put together the Biotechnology Information System Network (BTIS Net), which was propagated across the country through able scientists.
Dr. Ramachandran also fostered Biotech industries; supporting them was another important initiative towards building a strong foundation for the field in India. Dr. Kiran Majumdar-Shaw, who could be considered the earliest biotech entrepreneur in India, writes in very warm words about him, and Dr Padmanabhan Babu is another example.
However, unlike entrepreneurs who are solely focused on the business aspect of science, and scientists who are solely focused on the production aspect of science, Dr. Ramachandran was also a humanitarian. His encouragement and support in the area of vaccines has led to the fact that today, India supplies over 45 per cent of the world’s childhood vaccines.
His successors, to date, have carried on his legacy and built on the foundation that Dr. Ramachandran laid. Today, DBT runs on a budget of about Rs 1,800 crores compared to Rs 20 crores in 1997-98, striving for greater heights each passing year.
True to his humility, when Ramachandran was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2011, he said,
“I share this honour with my colleagues who helped build the DBT.”
Dr. Ramachandran was the Titan of Biotechnology in India when the field was just emerging, and we in India owe a lot to this pioneer who led, not followed. It is hence fitting that the DBT has initiated an annual S. Ramachandran Lecture series in homage to its founder.
The immense support the DBT has given Indian Biotechnology is the result of close collaboration between all key stakeholders – individuals who have understood the potential of Biotechnology and are committed to promoting it in our country as a science and as an industry. However, going forward, the DBT needs to take several steps if India is to realize its true potential in biotechnology. These include addressing the following requirements:
• Promote innovation: R&D must be given top priority for India must add value through product innovation
• Streamline regulations: India has multiple regulatory bodies which cause confusion. We need to act now to write enabling regulations and enhance mutual recognition between international regulators.
• Establish strong industry-academia linkages: A systematic exchange of knowledge between academics and industry can help bolster the sector.
• Enhance fiscal support: With venture capital firms adopting a low-risk funding mentality, innovative funding is the need of the hour.
