India, France to jointly establish marine biology institute in 5 years

NEW DELHI: India’s Department of Biotechnology, the University Pierre Et Marie Curie (UPMC) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France’s national centre for scientific research — CNRS) have joined hands to set up a National Institute of Marine Biology and Biotechnology in five years.

A memorandum of understanding was signed on Saturday in the presence of Prime Ministers of India and France to establish the framework of future cooperation between the parties — including scientific research and development, educational and training, technical and logistical aspects and legal and financial implications.

To be named the Marine Biology Institute, the collaboration will use a multidisciplinary approach to address the most important topics in marine biology and marine biotechnology.

The institute will also facilitate collaborative research programmes and training of manpower besides ushering in efficient research infrastructure, facilities and technologies.

The French contribution to the collaboration will be the expertise of CNRS and UPMC in developing high standard stations in their country which will help the design, construction and maintenance of the institute. The Indian contribution will be the interest and proficiency in cell and molecular biology and biotechnology.

The venture will also provide Indian researchers access to the French marine stations – which have extraordinary technical capabilities.