Dear Guru, 10 years ago, Biotechnology was a just a boom in waiting. Now with the kind of exposure that it has had over the years and its vast involvement in the fields of Genetics, Immunology, Virology, Microbiology, etc. a career in Biotechnology has become a career option for many Engineers, Medical and Science Graduates.

Ideally for research studies, you should be studying Ph.D. In order to be eligible to study Ph.D, post MBBS you should be heading towards MD/MS. Thereafter you can opt for Medical research in BioTechnology. You can also pursue M.Tech in BioTechnology after MBBS. On a short route, there are Institutions like Rajiv Gandhi Centre for BioTechnology which conducts admissions for MBBS graduates for a direct research programme.

There are no Institutions that offer MD in Biotechnology in India. There is a Post MD Certificate Course in Biotechnology in PGIMER. However, to be eligible for this course, you need to be a Postgraduate. There are other Institutions like AIIMS which offer certification courses but none of them are PG level.

The other option is to take advantage of your MBBS qualification and join Institutes like Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB). RGCB is the right place for students who have passion and deep interest in Research. Applications are invited twice a year for Phd programmes. Candidates with an MCI certified MBBS are also eligible along with PostGraduate students in Science related fields. Upper age limit is 28 years for the session that you are being hired. There is an age relaxation for Reserved categories. There will be an entrance test for all the eligible candidates. Those who have cleared this test are called in for an Interview round. You need to score a minimum aggregate of 60% in MBBS.

St. Johns Research Institute has a Department of Biotechnology and students are generally supported by Fellowships from CSIR, ICMR, UGC,etc.

CSIR-CIMAP conducts Research in Plant Biotechnology. Their major areas of research are Molecular biology of plant secondary metabolism and its regulation. You can pursue Supervised Ph.D. Then there are NIMHANS, PGI, CCMB, TIFR which offer Ph.D programmes.

Indian R&D is doing well on International platform. So there is no dearth of opportunities. As this is not a path often travelled, risk needs to be taken. The career options can be Research Scientist, Post Doc Researcher, Assistant Professor, Patent Agent, Clinical Project Manager, Consultant, etc. The salary might start as low as 4 lakhs per annum.and go upto 20 lakhs per annum depending upon your experience.