MPSC Rajyaseva 2013 CSAT — Question 31

The concept of biotechnology is a wide concept encompassing procedures modifying living organisms as per necessity for the welfare of human beings. The living organisms are modified by various technical procedures for number of human requirements being such as domestication of animals, cultivation of plants and improving plant variety through various breeding practices. Modern technologies used for the purpose include techniques like cell, tissue culture and genetic engineering. The United Nations convention of Biological diversity defines 'biotechnology' as: Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organism or derivatives thereof to make or modify products or processes for specific use. In other words, biotechnology can be defined as the application of technical advances in life sciences to develop various products. Biotechnology also involves pure biological scientific disciplines such as genetics, microbiology, animal cell culture, molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology, cell biology and those outside the sphere of biology which include chemical engineering, bioprocess engineering, bioinformatics and biorobotics. Conversely, modern biological sciences are intimately entwined and dependent on the methods developed through biotechnology and therefore all these together constitute the life sciences industry. Biotechnology is research and development in the laboratory using bioinformatics for exploration, extraction, exploitation and production from any living organism and any source of biomass by means of biological engineering where high value added products could be planned, forecasted, formulated, developed, manufactured and marketed. These products should be used on sustainable basis and patent rights thereof must be obtained. (legal protection at national and international level)