ANNUAL REPORT - Department of Biotechnology

Biotechnology Information System Network
After making a mark in Information Technology, the
Indian IT community is in the process of changing
gears. Focus has already shifted to the industry of
the future - Bio-technology, also known as the
science of the living organism. In this goal, we are
fortunate to have a strong foundation in terms of pool
of scientific talent, world class software engineers
and a vibrant pharmaceutical and biotech sector.
Drug discovery is increasingly becoming
unaffordable and risky venture. Bioinformatics holds
out promise towards reducing the cost and time of
development of new products such as new drugs,
vaccines, plants with specific properties and
resistance to environmental stress, pest and
diseases etc. As the full genome sequences, data
from micro arrays, proteomics as well as species
data at the taxonomic level become available,
interrogation of these databases require
sophisticated bioinformatics tools. Organizing this
data into querriable and interoperable databases and
developing appropriate software to extract
knowledge from these databases is going to be a
major challenge.
Biotechnology Information System(BTISnet)
India was the first country in the world to establish
National distributed Bioinformatics Network. Due to
personal intervention and support by the then Prime
Minister Late Rajiv Gandhiji, India established a
Distributed Bioinformatics Network in 1986-87. The
culture of use of computers in biology and
importance of quantization in biology in India was the
result of this network. The BTISnet covers
institutions under DST, CSIR, ICMR, ICAR,
Universities and Institutes under Human Resource
Ministry.
Today an extensive Bioinformatics Network,
covering 117 institutions, spread geographically all
over the country, has been established. The Network
Chapter : 8
is creating human resource in Bioinformatics and
carrying out research in different areas of
Bioinformatics. Scientists of this network have
published more than 1000 bioinformatics research
papers in peer reviewed journals in last five years and
helped in publishing more than 3000 research papers
in biology/biotechnology. The network has also
helped directly or indirectly several Bioinformatics
companies in India. The scientists from the network
have participated in major national millennium
technology initiative projects of CSIR such as
Biosuite of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) or
software packages for visualization of bioinformatics
data by Strand Genomics. The BTISnet is the first
network which established BioGrid India of large
bandwidth and high speed connectivity among
various institutions in the country and also high
performance national computing facility. Thus, this
unique network has showed that India can work in
network consortium mode.
Major Activities during 2006-07
Bioinformatics facility (BIF) for Biology Teaching
through Bio Informatics (BTBI):
Innovation is required not only in research but also in
teaching activities of Biology and allied areas.
Towards this, the department has evolved a new
program, namely biology teaching though
bioinformatics (BTBI) by establishing bioinformatics
facilities at teaching institutions. The scheme was
widely advertised in newspapers, journals, websites,
E-mail list servers etc. A total of 165 applications
were received out of which 52 institutions were
selected and extended grants-in-aid for setting up of
bioinformatics facilities. The facility will be a
centralized resource of an individual institution to
support bioinformatics tools and resources for the
enhancement of learning capabilities. A list of these
52 BIF facilities is given at Annexure-V.
159 Biotechnology Information System Network