To remove the existing technological gaps and to build core strength in a few select emerging areas to aim at world leadership, the industry needs to achieve many things at many fronts at a rapid pace. This can be achieved by networking.

Therefore the entrepreneur has to work closely with organisations involved in technology management and R&D both in the country and abroad.

Organisations like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is working hard in order to create awareness in the industry about the expertise of these organisations.

CII is working closely with Technology Development Board (TDB) of government of India to promote commercially viable indigenous technologies and in the efforts to adapt imported technologies on a largerscale.

The overwhelming emphasis these days on environment and ecology protection, with strict laws and regulation necessitates the use of natural, biodegradable and eco-friendly products. In fact, proactive companies are finding the theme ``good for the environment, better for business'' to be credible. The most promising areas for realising the gains of environment friendly technologies relate to biotechnology and natural products.In addition, India is rich in biodiversity, which gives her a special competitive advantage in natural products and Biotechnology.

Biotechnology Consortium India Ltd (BCIL) is one such organisation, which helps investors with selecting the right technologies and products in biotechnology, and makes the information regarding biotech business available to the entrepreneur.

As such, biotechnology is poised to serve industry, agriculture and medicine for the third world.

In India, in view of the already available and developing resources by way of skill, expertise andinfrastructure, it has potential for successful commercial exploitation.

Under the government's pragmatic and farsighted policy framework envisaging transfer and absorption of resources and technology on congenital terms and prompting dedicated research and application, biotechnology holds out a promising future.

In this context, the policies, principles and conventions laid down by the government are progressively becoming relevant, particularly in matters relating to regulations (product approvals, environmental impact assessment of recombinant products, etc), patents, capital formation, technology transfer, research funding, purchasing, tax exemption, etc.

We have in our country a vast R&D infrastructure, which includes the extensive network of national labs, academic institutes and private R&D labs. It is essential to utilise the expertise of these institutions and to make them contribute to industry and economy.

Various methods and models have to be adapted to strengthen such linkages, which areweak now.

The effects of poor utilisation of indigenously developed products and technologies can be demonstrated by the following example. Indian pharmaceutical companies have in the fifty years of independence not been able to give the world a single new drug molecule. Moreover, the MNCs also have not obliged us by introducing new life saving drugs in India several years after their introduction in the western markets.

Ibuprofen, a popular anti-inflammatory agent was introduced in the world market in 1967, but was introduced in India six years later in 1973. Similarly, Rifampicin, an anti-tubercular drug was introduced in the world market in 1974, while in India in 1980 (again six years later).

This indicates the loss on the part of the Indian public. In spite of the fact that India has a large number of tuberculosis patients, a life saving drug like Rifampicin was introduced after a delay of six years thus robbing the Indian patient of a chance for survival.

However, over the years, the averagetime lag between the international launch and the Indian launch of a new drug has declined from five-six years to three-four years. This is mainly due to the fact that a great deal of the MNCs' R&D work is carried out in India using the cheap Indian skilled labour.Today the per capita Indian drug consumption is $3 compared to $100 in the US. The prices of drugs in India are amongst the lowest in the world. Yet, we Indians are at the mercy of the big foreign multinationals for the latest discoveries and inventions in the field of medicine.

Indian industry has the potential of churning out world class products through their inhouse R&D.

However, for this to happen, the industrialist has to believe in himself and the fact that only Indians can find solutions to Indian problems. Our local biodiversity and abundance of natural resources like minerals are yearning to be exploited.

A number of Indian universities are carrying out research to generate a great deal of knowledge of native Indian medicinalplants and locally available ores of precious metals. Titanium is one such metal, which is in abundance in India (with nearly 37 per cent of the world's illmenite ores). However, the current production level of the metal in India is less than 0.1 per cent and that too mostly from imported ore.

We have the knowledge and the technology to develop competitive world class products. We have the shrewd business class, which can sell sand to desert dweller. Yet it is the westerner who is dictating our market strategy. Our stock exchanges are at the mercy of the FIIs.

This case is not very different from the much-publicised neem or turmeric case, in which we had the knowledge but not the sense to exploit it commercially. What is lacking is the innovative, adventurer spirit in the Indian entrepreneur.

After all it is the market which determines the success of any product. The market for titanium, neem products, and many such indigenously developed products is tremendous. There is even greater export protentialin these areas. What is needed is investment from the industry. And like neem and turmeric there are 200 botanical species in queue waiting for commercial exploitation.

Authors are researchers at the Biotech Research Centre, Mumbai