India, Japan to collaborate in biotechnology research
16 Sep 2013
RIKEN, Japan's largest research organisation, has signed a series of agreements with India's ministry of science and technology for launching joint research programmes in the fields of biology, life sciences and material sciences.
Under the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed on Saturday, RICKEN will collaborate with the department of biotechnology (DBT) and the department of science and technology (DST) of India's ministry of science and technology for genome-related research.
The areas of collaborative research will include systems biology, computational science (including development of bioinformatics tools),detection tools (e.g. spectroscopy) for security and other areas of mutual interest, an official release said.
The cooperation will facilitate exchange and foster further collaborations between Japan and India, in these fields. They extend a long history of collaboration between India and Japan, two powerhouses of Asian research and the MoUs will formally launch the RIKEN-DBT&DST joint research activities, an official release said.
Speaking on the occasion, K Vijay Raghavan, secretary, DBT, said the MoU will usher in a new era of cooperation in the area of innovations and techniques for the agricultural and pharmacological industries in India.
Considering the importance of science and technology and the high potential of further cooperation in various areas of research between DST and RIKEN, such cooperation will further the scope of new inventions, T Ramasami, secretary, DST, added.
''Mutual cooperation between the two prominent Asian countries in the fields of biology, life sciences and material sciences is an important phenomena and such steps need further strengthening,'' said the Japan's ambassador to India Takeshi Yagi.
The RIKEN-DBT&DST joint research programme will also focus on supporting exchange of researchers, post-doctoral fellow and doctoral students besides doing joint research programmes.
RIKEN is Japan's leading multidisciplinary research organisation for basic and applied research in a diverse range of scientific disciplines.
Founded in 1917 as a private research foundation in Tokyo, RIKEN has grown rapidly in size and scope and today encompasses a network of world-class research centers and institutes across Japan.
The department of biotechnology (DBT) and the department of science and technology (DST) are government departments that provide funds for the promotion of science and technology and other related activities.
