Biotechnology is an inter-disciplinary field encompassing Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Engineering. Its use and application spans a wide range of activities such as developing new varieties of seeds, improving livestock breeds, creating pesticides of various kinds or developing industrial enzymes that hasten the industrial process. So the work of biotechnologists is mainly in research which aims at the application of technology to the improvement of the quality of life, and the development of a variety of end uses.

Biotechnology is therefore applicable in several areas. In the field ofagriculture, Biotechnology has opened up new opportunities for crop and tree improvement. Tissue culture is helping overcome the limitations of genetic breeding, disease resistance, soil imbalance etc, while other research work provides alternatives to chemicals in fertilisers and pesticides. In animal breeding too, Biotechnology works in improving livestock for the purpose required.

Biotechnology also plays a major role in the area of health care, particularly with regard to the development of new and advanced pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and in the diagnostics and quicker techniques for detecting disease.

In terms of industrial application, Biotechnology spans not only various methods of energy production and conservation, but also chemicals process, textiles development, cosmetics, genetic engineering, industrial waste treatment and so on. In fact it is in the areas of Environmental Biotechnology that research has seen the fastest expansion. Control of industrial waste, pollution and effluent treatmentare major areas of concern. Biotech firms are now tackling recycling of sewage sludge, microbial treatment for spills and biological and toxic waste treatment.

The research work of a biotechnologist can be technical, in terms of its application in areas of industrial development such as waste and pollution management, and various chemical processes for increased productivity. Such research work is mostly carried out in government research institutes, or some research oriented private sector organisations. Or, it can be academic research, conducted mainly for expanding the horizons of knowledge. Academic research is carried out in academic institutes and in some pharmaceutical and chemical industries in areas such as genetics, bio-technistry, bio-chemical engineering and so on.

Biotechnologists can also be involved in the production of the bio-processed materials which could include food, pharmaceuticals, tissue culture as well as the execution of pollution and waste control measures, and such options forthe installation and commissioning of industrial plants.

Eligibility: Biotechnology requires a firm background in science. Most courses in Biotechnology offered by engineering colleges and universities are at the post-graduate level. However, at present Osmania University offers a B.Sc in Biotechnology of tree years duration for which the candidate must have studied science at the +2 level. Graduates in all sciences/engineering technology and medicine are eligible for the M.Sc in Biotechnology. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) at Delhi and Kharagpur offer a five-year integrated M.Tech programme in Biotechnology. Admission for this course is through the Joint Entrance Examination held for admission to all IITs. The minimum requirement is a +2, or equivalent with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The IIT Delhi programme is of five years' duration, while the one at IIT Kharagpur is of five and a half years, as students have the option to leave after four years with a B.Tech.

While manytrained Biotechnologists tend to opt for greener pastures abroad where research facilities are far superior and opportunities abundant, in India too, it is an open field for biotechnological advancement.

As this is a highly research oriented field, candidates would need a post-graduate degree for entry into this field. Pharmaceutical companies, chemical industries, and other allied fields employ biotechnologists in the areas of planning, production and management of bio-processing and organic chemical industries, and in pollution control activities. Moreover, they are employed on a large scale in research laboratories run by the government as well as the private sector.

The Bio Tech Consortium of India (BCIC) has been formed to pioneer and co-ordinate research in this field, and has 30 R&D institutes linked to it and provides technical and marketing information to its clients.

With the intense interest and heat caused by the cloning of Dolly the lamb, it is obvious that Biotechnology is a rapidlygrowing subject, and a career of the future. In India alone, it accounts for being the fastest growing employment sector after computers and multi-media.

Internationally, it already accounts for a turnover of Rs 890 crore and according to current projections is expected to expand to Rs 3,500 crore by the turn of the century. The endless career possibilities in this sunrise industry cannot therefore, even be imagined.

The writer is the author of Penguin India Career Guide Vol I & II, and producer-director of a TV programme on careers entitled Hum Honge Kamyaab. She is also a newsreader on Doordarshan