Shantanu Chakraborty

ABOUT ME

First Research Assignment

After obtaining a post graduate degree in Applied |Chemistry from University of Calcutta, India, in 1991, I joined a research program on cyanobacterial biofertilizers funded by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. In this research program, I also worked on free living and symbiotic nitrogen fixation, microbial phosphate solubilization and municipal waste processing. Though my core subject was chemistry.....I was exposed to the very interesting world of biotechnology in my first research project.

First Job

After a 5 year stint with the research project, I have joined, Nitrofix Laboratories, a collaborative organization of West Bengal Forest Development Corporation as a Microbiologist in 1996. I looked after industrial production and quality control of microbial biofertilizers and biopesticides and orgsanization of field trials with different crops. I worked as Co-Principal Investigator of two internationally funded projects here.

Leaping Into Hardcore Industrial Biotechnology.

I joined Sun Biotechnology then as Senior Scientist in 2001. I established their Industrial Enzyme production unit and developed a new polymer matrix based solid substrate fermentation process for production of high quality pectinase, cellulase, protease and phytase enzymes. I also led the team for genetic improvement of the industrial microbial strains for production of those enzymes. Here, I also got exposed to chemical process engineering. I started working with stevia extraction technology in 2002 and develped the basic technology.

Seriously into the Stevia Sector

In 2006 I joined Innova Biosystems and pursued the technology development for industrial enzymes and stevioside extraction. In 2008 I submitted a project proposal for establishment of first stevioside extraction unit in India to Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, The proposal was approved and a 100 Kg per day stevioside extraction was established in Himachal Pradesh, India. Later, I continued my work in Stevia Sector through Anubhav Biotech, Janus Life Science and several other companies.