PARLIAMENT QUESTION: MARINE AND SPACE BIOTECHNOLOGY

• Marine biotechnology = use of oceanic biological resources for bioproducts (food, energy, chemicals, materials); Space biotechnology = biological research/manufacturing exploiting microgravity & off-Earth environments.
• Both flagged as priority/futuristic sectors under the BioE3 Policy (2024) of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology.
• UPSC relevance: convergence of S&T (GS-III) with India's bioeconomy, space programme (Gaganyaan/BAS), and Blue Economy strategy.