Growing Career Opportunities In Biotechnology

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Biotechnology unifies biology and technology by covering a wide range of subjects like agriculture, animal husbandry, biochemistry, bio-statistics, cell biology, chemistry, crop management, cropping system, ecology, engineering, genetics, health, immunology, medicine, microbiology, plant physiology, soil science, soil conservation, seed technology, and virology, etc. In biotechnology the living things, especially cells and bacteria are used in industrial process. Through these researches, various medicines, and vaccines are developed.

Scope of biotechnology in India

There is an immense possibility of getting jobs in this field as the demand for biotechnologists is growing in India as well as abroad. It is estimated that more than 6000 biotechnologists of top skill are required in India as per the survey made by the Human Resource Development Ministry.

Eligibility criteria to get into the field of biotechnology

The eligibility for this field requires graduation in science that is in physics, chemistry and biology. There is B.Tech for the undergraduates. Some universities in India offer the B.Sc biotechnology for which you can join after class 12 or equivalent examination, with physics, chemistry and mathematics. Graduates in all sciences, engineering technology, or medicine are eligible for the postgraduate (M.Sc.) course in biotechnology.

There are P.G. courses available in M.Sc. Biotechnology, M.Sc. (Agriculture) Biotechnology, M.V.Sc. (Animal) Biotechnology, M.Tech. Biotechnology, M.Sc./M.V.Sc. in Veterinary Biotechnology, M.Sc. (Marine) Biotechnology and a host of other courses are available.

Institutes that provide biotechnology course

Here are some well-known institutions of biotechnology, which offer graduate courses in the subjects:

o Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

o Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi

o Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi

o GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Uttar Pradesh

o National Centre for Plant Genome Research, New Delhi

o National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi

o National Dairy Research Institute, Bangalore

The following are some of the universities that also offer graduate and post graduate courses in biotechnology:

o Osmania University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

o Visva-Bharati, Birbhum, West Bengal

o Madras University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

o Biotechnology University of Mysore, Karnataka

o Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

o Benaras Hindu University

o Patna University, Bihar

o Rajasthan University, Rajasthan

o Biotechnology Banglore University, Karnataka

o Sai College Of Medical Science and Technology, Uttar Pradesh

o Biotechnology Gulbarga University, Karnataka

Jobs in biotechnology

Biotechnology as a subject has grown rapidly. A biotechnologist can get into government institutes and organizations, such as Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Development of Education, Science and Technology at Thiruvananthapuram.

Other fields include agriculture, dairy and horticulture institutes. Pharmaceutical companies like Dabur, Ranbaxy, Hindustan Lever, and Dr. Reddy’s Labs, and many more. Food processing industry, chemical industry, and the textile industry are the other areas where you can look for jobs. Hindustan Lever, Thapar Group, Indo American Hybrid Seeds, Bincon India Ltd., IDPL, Hindustan Antibiotics, etc. are some of the big companies that employ biotechnologists.

Remuneration in biotechnology field

India is the next biotech frontier and there’s immense scope to earn a lot in this field, but as always, the more well read you are more the amount you can expect. The factors for remuneration depend upon academic qualification, institute or university from which the degree is attained and the level of work experience.

In the corporate sector, a fresher with B.Sc. or B.Tech. degree can expect somewhere from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 7,000 per month. Candidates with masters degrees, PhDs, or research background can expect Rs. 10,000 to Rs.15,000 per month. Salary increases with your experience, but due to lesser number of openings in this field as compared to other sectors, the salary hikes are low.