AMN / WEB DESK

India is aiming for the phenomenal growth of the biotech sector from $70 billion to $150 billion in the next four years and this cannot be accomplished without the active participation of women, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh said today.

In the biotech start-ups sector, India was moving from women-specific to women-led projects, he noted after releasing a book based on “Compendium of 75 Women Biotech Entrepreneurs” at the Biotech Start-up Expo at Pragati Maidan here.

Singh said that in the past eight years of the Modi government, the number of female entrepreneur-owned biotech companies has seen an exponential rise and this could be aptly described as women-led empowerment, rather than women empowerment only.

The minister said that women scientists have carved a niche for themselves in Space, Nuclear Science, Drone and Nano-technology and added that many of the big scientific projects, including the most ambitious manned mission Gaganyaan to be launched in 2023, were being led by women scientists.

He said that one of the key pillars of the Prime Minister ‘New India’ initiative was the success story of women innovators in the country.