The total cost of all the projects is estimated at Rs 143.84 crore. The board has sanctioned Rs 51.46 crore and disbursed Rs 30.14 crore.

TDB secretary S B Krishnan told The Financial Express that in addition eight projects were cleared by it with a total cost of Rs 201 crore, including its own assistance of Rs 92 crore.

Nine more applications with a total project cost of Rs 78 crore were under consideration, Krishnan informed. These companies have sought an assistance of Rs 36 crore.

Krishnan informed that the first loan assistance was provided by the technology board to Shantha Biotechnics of Hyderabad for successfully launching the country's first genetically engineered Hepatitis-B vaccine.

Among the agreements signed by theboard are those including development and commercialisation of recombinant Hepatitis-B vaccine, setting up of manufacturing facilities for DL2 amino butanol, the principal raw material in the manufacture of anti-tuberculosis drug Ethambutol Hydrochloride by two start up companies.

With TDB support, Krishnan said, two companies had come forward to develop and apply cardiovasculars and anti-infectives and manufacture of Cefixime, an orally active cephalosporing anti-biotic.

The board has also approved loan assistance for setting a unit for the production of marine micro alga, Dunaliella Salina for subsequent extraction of Beta Carotene.

The alga is one of the richest natural sources of Beta Carotene is exploited for commercial production.

Another agreement for production of bio-fertiliser was signed with a technocrat-entrepreneur. The project involved converting naturally available, low-cost, protein-rich maize and wheat waste gluten into value added farm products such as amino acid-based protein-richcattle feed and growth enhancers for crops.

Another significant agreement was signed to manufacture unecenoic acid and heptaldehyde from castor oil with a Bharuch firm.