After information technology, bio-technology may be the next sector that the global market will identify India with.

Bio-technology is not only proving to be of tremendous help to the agriculture sector, but, the pharmaceutical sector is also gearing up to match the global inclination towards bio-tech products.

According to a report by Ministry for Science and Technology, India is the second largest food producer after China, and thus offers a huge market for biotechnology products.

Transgenics of rice, brassica, moonbean, pigeonpea, cotton, tomato and some vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower are already into field trials.

Some of these will be ready for large-scale production by 2005. Protein-enriched wheat with a higher lysine content will be introduced in the farmer's field by 2003-2005.

The nutraceuticals market is valued at Rs 2,500-3,000 crore ($532-638 million) at present, in a study by Ernst and young.

Genetically engineered seed market is estimated to be $250 million from a total seed market worth $500 million in 2001.

Marine resource development and aqua culture also hold great potential as India has more than 8000 kilometers of coastline.

On the other hand, the Indian pharmaceutical market is growing exponentially. In 1997, its value was a $3bilion, and is expected to rise to $9billion by the year 2005.

A study by Mckinsey predicts an innovation-led growth of $25 billion by 2010. Vaccine market in 2001 at $100 million is growing at 20 per cent.

The year 2003 is expected to see the launch of Human Insulin, Streptokinase, other vaccines and diagnostics.

Multinationals like Monsanto, Pfizer, Unilever, Dupont, Bayer, Eli-Lilly, Ranbaxy, Hoechst, Chiron-Boerhringer have set up their businesses in India.

Due to the rising costs of research and development abroad, companies from the US and Europe are looking for not only contract research in India but also either acquiring stake in smaller pharmaceutical companies or setting up joint ventures.

India also offers a suitable population for clinical trials because of its diverse gene pools covering a large number of diseases. The IT skill of Indian manpower also offer services in bioinformatics and data mining.

"India is definitely going to be the global hub for bio-tech products in next few years, especially after the expiry of various patents in 2005," V K Jain, managing director of the company said.