Aizawl, the 11^th October 2012 : A two day meeting of bioinformatics professionals of the North Eastern region to review the progress and evaluate the performance of the bioinformatics centers got underway in Aizawl today. The inaugural function of the 5^th Interactive meeting of North East Bioinformatics Centers which have been established by the Department of Biotechnology under the North Eastern Bioinformatics Network (NEBInet) was presided over by the Education Minister of Mizoram Pu Lalsawta who also holds charge of the Higher & Technical Education Department.

Vice Chancellor Mizoram University Prof. R. Lalthantluanga and former Vice Chancellor NEHU and now Member of National Advisory Council (NAC) Prof. P. Tandon graced the occasion. Advisor, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Dr. T. Madhan Mohan; Jt. Secy & Financial Advisor, DBT, Smt. Anuradha Maitra, senior officials from DBT also attended the meeting besides Coordinators from the various Bioinformatics Centers of the region.

In his inaugural speech, Pu Lalsawta remarked that the programmes being implemented, the establishment of Centres in various Universities and in some renowned colleges of the region indicates that there is a good prospect for the development of Biotechnology in the region and also that the central government favours the North East. He expressed happiness that the Department of Biotechnology, being aware of the potential the region has due of its abundance of floral and faunal biodiversity and its being one of the two Bio Diversity Hotspots in the country is giving adequate focus for its development and growth in terms of equipping institutions and strengthening human resources in the subject areas. He also released the Proceedings of the meeting on the occasion.

Prof. Tandon who also spoke on the occasion elaborated on the immense potential of the region especially in the areas of medicinal plants and floriculture. He said that in the case of Mizoram, which is rich in bamboo resources, more focus under the National Bamboo Mission needs to be given. He added that it is time science and technology be used to usher in economic growth. He however lamented that poor connectivity in the region hampered the growth of Bioinformatics – the essential tool for Biotechnology. Prof. Lalthantluanga in his speech expressed hope that the meeting would be highly beneficial for development of biotechnology which can encompass the entire region.

In his keynote address wherein Dr. T. Madhan Mohan gave a presentation on ‘Biotechnology Developments in the North Eastern states’, he elaborated on the vision of the Department - to enable the region to harness and apply biotechnology to achieve sustainable development and to ensure that the region contributes to the national and eventually to the global scientific knowledge and technological innovations. He added that the Bioinformatics Centers of the region are doing well and in some areas their performance is much better than similar institutions in the rest of the country.

Several programs on development of infrastructure, human resource, product development, establishment of Biotech Hubs and others are being successfully implemented for the last three years at a cost of around Rs. 300 crores. 177 proposals under a unique mentoring scheme called the Twinning Programme which encourages collaborative research by scientists of the region with well known Universities across India in advanced areas of biotechnology have been funded so far.  A center dedicated to molecular diagnosis of genetic disorders is being set up at Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh; a second such centre is also being planned in Aizawl. A Centre of Excellence in Agriculture Biotechnology with joint collaboration of DBT and Assam Agricultural University has been established; a second such centre on Fisheries Biotech is under consideration.  In the last three years, to strengthen the pool of scientific manpower in the area and expose scientists of the region to cutting edge biotechnology research, about 60 scientists have been awarded Overseas Fellowship and Associateship which has enabled them to undergo training at premier research institutions in US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Japan and other countries.