Planning Commission Member N K Singh has underlined the need for fostering public-private partnership in the bio-tech sector.

Addressing a conference on 'Indian Biotechnology - Building a Global Business' in Bangalore on Tuesday, Singh said the relevant issues must be addressed to attract much larger venture capital funding inflows.

He said a 'very high priority' had been given for bio-technology in the 10th Five-Year Plan and the sector was going to be an important catalyst in India's mission to achieve an annual eight per cent GDP growth in the coming years.

Singh said bio-technology was set to play an important role in meeting critical challenges that the country would face in the next few years, in the areas of food, energy and health securities as well environment sustainability.

In his key-note address to the conference, organised as part of Bangalore Bio 2003 chairman of France-based Bio-Merieux, Alain Merieux, said countries need to work closely in matters of infectious diseases through global networking.

Chairperson of Karnataka's vision group on biotechnology and CMD of Biocon India Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said intellectual property rights was key to India's bio-tech sector, for which intellectual and monetary capital would be drivers.