Govts investing heavily in bioeconomy; India best example of demand, supply growing together: WEF

New Delhi: The Governments across the world are investing heavily in bioeconomy development and India provides the clearest example of demand and supply expanding together in this area, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said on Tuesday.

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In its Bioeconomy Policy Index report, prepared in collaboration with Capgemini Invent, the WEF said the range of policy instruments for bioeconomy development in India reflects a strong emphasis on enabling conditions, research and development, and institutional capacity.

The report analysed 935 bioeconomy policy instruments across Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, India, China, and Brazil.

The report also called for policy portfolios that are designed to create demand, address specific commercialisation barriers and generate evidence from the outset.

It also recommended common reporting standards so that outcomes can be compared across instruments, sectors and countries.

About India, it said the country has a rapidly expanding bioeconomy supported by targeted national initiatives, including the Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment (BioE3) Policy.

"India has the most cross-cutting portfolio, with 48 percent of policy instruments supporting enabling conditions such as research and development (R&D), tax incentives and institutional capacity rather than individual sectors," it added.

Despite different national contexts, most country portfolios rely on a similar set of policy instruments, with India having the highest combined share (76 percent), followed by the UK (69 percent) and Brazil (68 percent), with the US close behind at 67 percent.

It identified India as having the clearest example of demand and supply expanding together.

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The WEF said the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme was paired with concessional finance for new distillery capacity through the Ethanol Interest Subvention Scheme in the country.

"Production expanded alongside mandated demand, supporting 20 percent ethanol blending five years ahead of the original 2030 target.

"The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas reports cumulative emissions savings of 95.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, although this figure has not been independently evaluated," it added.

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