HYDERABAD, 30 April 2023: Sri BioAesthetics, an Integrated AgribioTech Center inaugurated on Sunday in the city at TSIIC at Sultanpur on the outskirts of Hyderabad on a 1.5-acre land. It is set up with an investment of INR 30 crore.
The facility is a first of its kind in R&D, Production, and Service in India. It is an exclusive, multipurpose center, set up ahead of its times with microbial technologies for agriculture. Microbial technology is the production and use of economical bacteria, yeast and viruses.
The facility is aimed to cater to the needs of the farming community with quality biological agri inputs and testing services apart from conducting basic and applied research, said Dr. KRK Reddy, Managing Director of Sri BioAestheticsPvt. Ltd in his welcome address.
The center and various of its block were inaugurated by Patancheru MLA G. Mahipal Reddy and a group of Scientists Viz Prof Bir Bahadur, Prof. Arjula Ramachandra Reddy, Former Vice Chancellor of Yogi Vemana University; Prof Appa Rao Podile, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad; Vijay Rai, former MD of Rallis India; Mr. Satyanarayana Gonthina and GV Subba Reddy both Vice Presidents at Coromandel International Limited.
In a rare gesture, a block was named after Prof Bir Bahadur, under whose guidance of the MD of Sri BioAesthetics Dr. KRK Reddy did his Ph.D. The block is named "Prof Bir Bahadur Center for Microbiome and Nano Research ''. It was inaugurated by the 85 years old Prof Bir Bahadur himself.
After the inaugural function got over, five professors, four from Kakatiya University and one from Hyderabad Central University who taught Dr. KRK Reddy were facilitated by him. Some of these academies were 85 years above and had difficulty walking.
The professors included Prof Subash, Prof SM Reddy, Prof Vidyavati, Former Vice Chancellor, of Kakatiya University, Prof. Arjula Ramachandra Reddy, Former Vice Chancellor of Yogi Vemana University, and Prof Vir Bahadur from Kakatiya University. It is a rare gesture for a student to remember his teachers who taught him some fifty years ago and only remember but also invited them and honored them befittingly in front of 500-plus gatherings.
MyAgriBiome, a soil life analysis/assessment online platform for the benefit of farmers to understand their soil's biological properties was also launched. The new initiative of the company was in tune with the new global trend of "biological and regenerative agriculture" an emerging and globally accepted food production and an environmentally responsive farming method
This center is my dream. I waited for it for three decades. When I started a biocontrol laboratory in Hyderabad in 1993, a first of its kind in south India in the private sector, people didn't understand it because chemicals were ruling those days.
Speaking further Dr. KRK Reddy added that though we are self-sufficient in terms of food security thanks to the green revolution, climate change and global warming lead to contaminated and adulterated food which subsequently causes a lot of diseases. We consider our food as medicine. So we need alternatives. Biologicals are the future, he said.
''Teaching is a noble profession. If my student remembers me, names a block in my honor, it is the biggest honor for me'' said Prof Bir Bahadur. It is quite rare in these times to remember teachers and bestow such an honor, he added.
Prof Appa Rao, former Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad University said the facility is no less than any internationally renowned company. A state-of-the-art facility like this which looks partly industrial and partly academic is only seen in the Medical Sciences sector. It is very rare to see such a sophisticated and advanced facility in agriculture.
Vijay Rai, former MD of Rallis India said the facility is the most advanced and is ahead of its times.
Satyanarana, VP of Coromandel International Ltd said once upon a time fertilizers were considered nutrients, later micro-nutrients were used, and now bio-fertilizers are preferred
Subba Redd, VP of Coromandel International Ltd said biologicals are not competitors to chemical fertilizers but are complementary to each other. Let farmers explore the power of microbes.
The center will be a place where scientists, researchers, and experts from various fields can come together to collaborate, exchange ideas, and find solutions. They are experts in handling discovery to commercialization-related matters.
KRK Reddy, the founder of Sri BioAesthetics Pvt.Ltd is a Doctorate from Kakatiya University, Post-Doctoral in Plant Biotechnology from Central the University of Hyderabad. He is also the president of BIPA (BioAgri Input Producers Association), one of the earliest BioAgri associations in the country.
According to him, the new Integrated Agri Biotech Center is aimed and focused on "microbial technologies" to develop solutions for current-day problems in modern agriculture. Dr. Reddy's passion for his favorite "Microbiome" has made him don this innovative and new technology platform and the Center.
