Biotechnology is one of the contemporary courses in the education sphere. It is becoming one of the most popular streams in India. Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that uses living organisms and bioprocesses in the fields of medicine, engineering, technology, and other related fields that need bioproducts. It is generally defined as using organisms or their products for commercial purposes.

Biotechnology courses

The topics included in the stream of Biotechnology are Immunology, Virology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Genetics, and Chemistry. The candidates can pursue graduate and post graduate level programs in Biotechnology. Some of the courses are listed below.

• B.Sc. Biotechnology (Hons.)
• Advance Diploma in Biotechnology
• B.Tech. Biotechnology
• B.E. Biotechnology
• B.Sc. Biotechnology and Bioinformatics
• B.Sc. Biotechnology
• Diploma in Biotechnology
• M.Sc. Industrial Biotechnology
• Diploma in Industrial Biotechnology
• M.Tech. Nanobiotechnology
• M.Sc. Marine Biotechnology
• M.Sc. Biotechnology
• Post Graduate Diploma in Biotechnology
• Ph.D. Biotechnology
• M.S. Applied Biotechnology
• M.Phil. Biotechnology
• M.B.A. Biotechnology
• M.VSc. Animal Biotechnology
• M.E. Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology

Institutes that offer different courses in Biotechnology

There are many institutes in India that offer students who have completed various programs in Biotechnology. The list of a few institutes is given below.

• Goa University
• GGS Indraprastha University
• Jadavpur University
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences
• IIT Delhi
• University of Delhi
• Anna University
• IIT Kharagpur

Significance of Industrial Biotechnology

Biotechnology has many applications in industrial sector. Industrial biotechnology uses the methods of modern molecular biology to develop the efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts of industrial processes like paper and pulp, textile, and chemical manufacturing. Biocatalysts are being developed by the industrial biotechnology companies to make ease the synthesis of chemicals. One such biocatalyst is enzymes. Various companies are manufacturing enzymes in large quantities with the help of industrial biotechnology.

Specialty and commodity chemicals can be produced using the applications of biotechnology. Traditional chemical synthesis requires enormous amount of energy and sometimes undesirable products like HCl. But we can synthesize same chemicals by the application of biotechnology more reasonably and without polluting the surroundings.  For example, other cleaning compounds in detergents are replaced with protease. Detergent proteases are the vital components of modern detergents as they remove protein impurities. Proteases help to break down fatty acids, proteins, and starch present on the items to be washed. The protease production results in the production of biomass which in turn yields an organic fertilizer.

Biotechnology is also applied in textile industry. The technique of biotechnology is used in the furnishing of fabrics and garments in textile industry. Biotechnology is also used to produce biotech-derived cotton that is stronger, warmer, has improved dye uptake and retention, wrinkle- and shrink-resistance, and improved absorbency.

With the application of biotechnology, petroleum can be replaced with some agricultural crops like corn for chemical production. The sugar content in the crop can be fermented to acid and then can be used as an intermediate for other chemical feed stocks production. Thus, more than half of the world’s fuel and chemical requirements could be supplied by such renewable resources in the near future.