India is beginning to look beyond land-based laboratories to some of the most extreme and underexplored environments on Earth and beyond. Marine and space biotechnology—once niche scientific domains—are now emerging as strategic tools for food security, sustainable manufacturing, and long-term space ambitions. Together, they reflect how biology is becoming central to India’s future economy and technological sovereignty.
What marine and space biotechnology actually involve
Marine biotechnology focuses on organisms that thrive in oceans—microbes, algae, sponges, and other marine life that have evolved to survive high pressure, salinity, low light, and nutrient scarcity. These adaptations make them valuable sources of bioactive compounds, industrial enzymes, biomaterials, food ingredients, and agricultural biostimulants.
Space biotechnology, in contrast, studies how biological systems—microbes, plants, and human cells—behave under microgravity and radiation. Such research is crucial for developing life-support systems, ensuring astronaut health, producing food in space, and enabling biological manufacturing during long-duration missions.
Why India needs to invest in these frontiers
India enjoys a natural advantage in marine biotechnology. With a coastline of over 11,000 km and an Exclusive Economic Zone exceeding 2 million sq. km, the country has access to rich marine biodiversity and biomass. Yet, its contribution to global marine bioproducts remains disproportionately low, pointing to vast untapped potential.
Marine biomanufacturing can reduce pressure on land, freshwater, and chemical-intensive agriculture while opening new sources of food, energy, chemicals, and sustainable materials. Space biotechnology, meanwhile, is integral to India’s long-term space ambitions, supporting self-reliant missions, human health management in space, and biological production in extreme environments.
India’s current position in marine biotechnology
Despite its advantages, India’s domestic production of marine biomass—particularly seaweed—remains modest, at around 70,000 tonnes annually. As a result, India continues to import key seaweed-derived inputs such as agar, carrageenan, and alginates used across food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and medical sectors.
Policy initiatives are now attempting to bridge this gap. The Blue Economy agenda, the Deep Ocean Mission, and the BioE3 framework are pushing towards integrated marine biomanufacturing, linking cultivation, extraction, and downstream applications. A handful of private players, including Sea6 Energy and ClimaCrew, along with institutions such as the ICAR–Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, are exploring pathways to scale marine biomass into high-value bio-based products.
Progress and limits in space biotechnology
India’s efforts in space biotechnology are largely driven by the Indian Space Research Organisation. Through its microgravity biology programme, ISRO is conducting experiments on microbes, algae, and other biological systems to study food production, life-support regeneration, and human physiological responses in space.
However, private-sector participation remains limited. Space biotechnology is still capital-intensive, technologically complex, and characterised by long development timelines, making it a high-risk area for commercial investment at present.
How other countries are moving ahead
Globally, several countries have moved faster in exploiting these frontiers. The European Union supports large-scale programmes in marine bioprospecting, algae-based biomaterials, and bioactive compounds through shared research infrastructure such as the European Marine Biological Resource Centre. China has rapidly expanded seaweed aquaculture and marine bioprocessing, integrating them into its industrial policy.
In space biotechnology, the United States leads through NASA and the International Space Station, where experiments on microbial behaviour, protein crystallisation, stem cells, and closed-loop life-support systems feed into drug discovery, regenerative medicine, and long-duration human missions.
Why these domains matter strategically
Marine and space biotechnology are early-stage frontiers where first movers can secure lasting technological, economic, and strategic advantages. They sit at the intersection of sustainability, industrial innovation, and national security.
For India, the key risk is not lack of potential but slow and fragmented progress, spread across ministries, institutions, and pilot projects without a unifying vision.
What next for India?
A dedicated national roadmap for marine and space biotechnology would help define priorities, timelines, and measurable outcomes. Such a framework could align public research funding with private innovation, build shared infrastructure and skilled human capital, and position India as a credible global hub for next-generation biomanufacturing.
What to note for Prelims?
- Marine biotechnology uses ocean organisms for bioactive compounds and biomaterials.
- Space biotechnology studies biological systems under microgravity and radiation.
- Key initiatives: Blue Economy, Deep Ocean Mission, BioE3.
What to note for Mains?
- Role of biotechnology in sustainable development and climate resilience.
- Strategic importance of marine and space biotechnology for economic security.
- Challenges posed by fragmented R&D ecosystems.
- India’s comparative position vis-à-vis global leaders in biomanufacturing.
