The Union government has approved the creation of an apex autonomous body by subsuming 14 institutions of the Department of Biotechnology. The merger of the 14 societies of biotechnology institutes into a single one is in the interest of convenient functioning, cost-effectiveness and integrated working, Science Minister Jitendra Singh.
He made the decision during the annual general body meeting of the societies of autonomous institutions of the DBT at the National Institute of Immunology, according to an official statement on Thursday. The minister said the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (Bric) would build on the foundations developed at the DBT's autonomous institutions.
The Bric fosters synergies while maintaining their distinct research mandates and undertaking cutting-edge research to address national priorities, according to the statement details of the institutes that will be merged were not shared.