BSL-4 lab in Guj will end India’s dependence on foreign countries: Shah

 

 

UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of the BSL-4 Biocontainment Facility of the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre in Gandhinagar, noting that India won’t be dependent on foreign countries for testing samples of dangerous viruses. He said testing of samples will also become faster after the facility is activated. Shah noted that despite India’s population of 1.4 billion, the country so far had only one BSL-4 laboratory at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, forcing samples to be transported hundreds of kilometres for testing. He said Gujarat has become the first State to establish a Biosafety Level-4 (BSL-4) laboratory, the highest level of biosafety containment required for handling highly contagious and fatal viruses, with no available vaccines or treatments.

 

Shah said this is the second BSL-4 laboratory in the country, but the first one being built by a State Government, and the credit for this goes to Gujarat. “A strong fortress for India’s biosafety is being built here at a cost of Rs 362 crore in over 11,000 square meters of area,” added Shah. Addressing a gathering, Shah said a new era of India’s health security, bio-safety, and development of the bio sector has begun under the leadership of PM Modi, according to a PIB release. He said the laboratory will emerge in the coming days as a strong protective shield for the Indian health sector.

 

Shah stated that the initiative is based on PM Modi’s vision that science and technology should not remain limited to research and development (R&D) alone, but should become a foundational pillar of the nationâs overall development. Shah said that after the National Institute of Virology in Pune, this will be India’s second high-level laboratory. He said India had lagged behind the world in cutting-edge research for many years, but with the BSL-4 Biocontainment Facility, young people working in the biotechnology sector will get new opportunities, and India will be able to move ahead in this field. This facility will provide scientists with a platform to conduct research on highly infectious and deadly viruses in a safe environment, said Shah.