Jairam Ramesh mocks Modi as 'Master of Acronyms' over BioE3 success

Senior Congress leader and MP Jairam Ramesh on Thursday (February 26) indirectly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to him as the “Master of Acronyms”.

He noted that while Modi now speaks of BioE3, the significant achievements in biotechnology that he claims to have spearheaded are fundamentally rooted in the groundwork established by his predecessors.

Biotechnology dept was set up 4 decades ago: Ramesh

Ramesh, who is also the Congress’s general secretary in-charge of communications, said it was exactly four decades ago that a full-fledged Union biotechnology department came into being at the initiative of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

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“India was among the first countries to do so. He (Rajiv Gandhi) handpicked Dr. S. Ramachandran to be its first Secretary. Dr. Ramachandran shaped, guided, and led the Dept. of Biotechnology for seven years and was followed by other distinguished scientists,” Ramesh said on X.

Today exactly 40 years ago at the initiative of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, a full-fledged Union Department of Biotechnology came into being. India was among the first countries to do so. He handpicked Dr. S. Ramachandran to be its first Secretary. Dr. Ramachandran shaped,…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 26, 2026

“His particular focus was building and expanding the base of vaccine production in the country. It was in its first three decades that the Dept built up the extensive infrastructure for biotech education, research, and development,” he said.

The former Union minister continued that in early 2012, when Manmohan Singh was the prime minister, the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) was set up to advance the biotech innovation ecosystem. “It has done very well,” he said.

'Master of Acronyms talks much about BioE3'

Ramesh then took on PM Modi, who is currently on a visit to Israel. Among other criticisms of the PM’s action in Israel, Ramesh said in his post, “The Master of Acronyms now talks much of BioE3 — Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment. Like much of what he claims credit for, the essential foundations of recent successes are due to the foundations laid without much fanfare and self-publicity by his predecessors.”

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The Union Cabinet, chaired by Modi, approved the BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) policy on August 24, 2024.

BioE3 policy formulated by the Department of Biotechnology, which comes under the Ministry of Science and Technology, creates a convergence between biotech, engineering and digitalisation for building a more equitable and sustainable future through bio-manufacturing.

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BioE3 policy envisages green, clean, prosperous, and Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) making giant strides towards Viksit Bharat 2047, according to an official statement by the government.

(With agency inputs)