At a meeting which was presided over by the chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, it was resolved to establish a Centre of Excellence in Neutraceuticals at the Life Sciences Park in Thonnakkal.
The Kerala State Council for Science and Technology, a component of the State Science and Technology department, will be in charge of the center’s research and industry interface section, which will soon begin operations. The division of Neutra Enterprises would be under the control of Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation.
The Neutraceuticals Centre will be built on five acres of land at the Life Sciences Park. For the time being, necessary laboratory space for the R&D division will be set up at a building owned by the Institute of Advanced Virology.
The government is also preparing a list of possible partners who can work as research and industry interface.
Climatic conditions, availability of raw materials and availability of trained industry personnel are cited to be the reasons why the government thinks that Kerala can gain ground in the nutraceutical industry.
