The year-on-year (YoY) growth in the Indian biotech industry declined to 18 per cent from 34 per cent, the industry had achieved in 2007-08, amid global recession and slowdown in the domestic market.

According to the data presented at the Bangalore Bio 2009, India's premier biotech the industry grew to Rs12,137 crore from Rs10,274 crore, the previous fiscal, recording an increase of 18 per cent.

"Global recession impacted growth," said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson of biotech major Biocon, at the event.

The industry's exports touched Rs7,152 crore accounting for 60 per cent of the total revenue.

Sector-wise, the major earner was bio-pharma that contributed Rs7,883 crore to the total revenue while Bio-services weighed in at Rs2,062 crore and bio-agri segment contributed Rs1,494 crore.

City-wise, Bangalore continues to lead the rest of India in the biotech sector, but according to Masumdar-Shaw, though Bangalore continued to top the list with Rs2,500 crore revenue from the biotech sector, Pune was fast catching up with the tech hub.

In dollar terms, growth was flat YoY at $2.5 billion as rupee depreciated to Rs46.30 against the dollar on average in 2008-09 while exports grew 6 per cent in dollar terms to $1.5 billion.

Domestic business registered a 10 per cent increase at Rs4985 crore (1billion) YoY in rupee terms.

The Indian biotech industry, she said was consolidation and looking at various business models to sustain growth momentum in a globally challenging environment.

She added that India could play a key role in addressing the global challenges of food and health insecurities through innovating the very process of biotech innovation.

Meanwhile, according to Subramanya Naidu, minister for IT and BT, government of Karnataka, the state government is planning to release the revised 'millennium biotech policy' within a month, the first version of which was drafted in 2001. He was speaking at the inaugural function of the Bangalore Bio 2009. The revised policy aims to offer a number of incentives to the biotechnology industry.

Vision Group on Biotechnology, chaired by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon India Ltd is playing a key role in guiding the revised policy which will focus on capacity building, de-regulating certain provisions to clear the way for growth in the sector and providing the much-needed fiscal incentives/ concessions and building up the necessary infrastructure for the sector.

The state is also seeking to speed up development of the industry by extending it to tier II and III cities and on those lines the government is planning an Agri-Biotech Park at Dharwad at an investment of Rs30 crore, a Marine Biotech Park at Mangalore for Rs70 crore, an Animal House at Bidar with Rs30 crore and phyto-pharmaceutical park at Mysore for Rs110 crore he added.