The department of biotechnology`s latest initiative — the Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP) could provide a boost for research as industry is facing a credit squeeze following the global financial crisis, reports Economic Times.

The Rs 3.5 billion package will underwrite the risk of research and development of innovate molecules and processes. It will be open to all innovative biotech companies, who are looking to do research in agriculture, health, bio energy and green manufacturing. The industry has welcomed the move, with participants at the Bio Invest 2008 forum lauding it as a positive step by the government.

The government broke the mindset of taking risks when it approved process patents. It is now up to them to try and fix the system and encourage people to take risks in research. The idea is to encourage and reward people who do innovative research, said Shrikumar Suryanarayan, director general of the Association of Biotechnology-Led Enterprises (ABLE).