Contributions of Department of Biotechnology to non-communicable disease biology research in India

The last two decades have seen a shift of focus from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). NCDs, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung disease, chronic kidney disease, neurological disorders, etc., pose devastating health consequences for individuals, families and communities, and threaten health systems. The socio-economic costs associated with these chronic diseases make their control a global priority. The Department of Biotechnology is working to provide leadership and evidence-based actions on surveillance, prevention and control of NCDs to reduce the disease burden. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) aims to develop and support competitive research and development (R&D) programmes and generate new programmes from basic to clinical and transla-tional research under NCD conditions. Diseases addressed in the programme include but are not limited to cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, lung diseases, kidney disorders, autoimmune disorders, eye diseases, osteoporosis and bone biology, diseases of the gastrointestinal system, neurological disorders, etc. This article summarizes the contributions of DBT to NCD biology research in India through finan-cial support.