CEO Insights Magazine

Sri BioAesthetics is engaged in the Business of R&D with special reference to developing products based on plant microbiomes for soil and plant health management. The company aims to develop innovative agricultural inputs for integrated crop management with special reference to improve nutrient use efficiency by the crop plants, mitigate abiotic and biotic stress environments utilizing soil, plant and insect micro biomes. The firm is successfully led by Dr. KRK Reddy having around three decades of industry expertise, he was one of the first pioneers in India to establish a microbiome-based biotech company to benefit the farming community. His expertise in the biotech industry has been lauded by several states, national and international accolades. Significantly, he received Best R&D, Best MSME, Best Innovation, Best Industry from the former presidents Dr. A.P J Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil for his contributions in research, innovations, product development with special reference to bio intensive integrated crop management to improve agricultural productivity. This alone serves as a testament to his expertise and speaks for itself about his competence. In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights Magazine, Dr. KRK Reddy enlightens us on his explicit provisional journey and distinct facets of Sri BioAesthetics.

Tell us about your educational background and prior industry experiences. What led to the establishment of Sri BioAesthetics?
I worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at University of Hyderabad and University of Bayreuth, Germany. Later, I returned to India and established my own biotech firm, Sri Biotech Laboratories, in 1994 which was one of the country's first Agri-biotech ventures. Since the

beginning of the Green Revolution in our country, most of our agricultural operations relied on chemical inputs consequently tainting our agricultural soils. Sri Biotech came forward with biological agricultural inputs which help in biofortification, increase in nutrition use efficiency and help in tackling abiotic and biotic stresses without causing any damage to the environment. Our products were well acknowledged and accepted by the farming community across the nation and soon the trade too recognized the relevance and importance of biological inputs. We had state-of-the-art research and manufacturing facilities and a strong research team of many doctorates and postgraduates which attracted many public private partnerships and projects that were fully funded by the Government of India. Significantly in 2009,India Agribusiness Fund, constituting Rabo Bank invested $ 10 million in the company taking around 30 percent of the stake. In 2015, along with the private equity investors we sold the company to an Italian group. So, I can proudly state that our company was the first in the biotech sector to receive foreign funding as well as acquired by a multinational European company. Later on, In 2016 I established Sri BioAesthetics Private Limited.

Define Sri BioAesthetics as a company and where it stands in the industry. What are the company's major strengths and distinctive offerings to its clients?
Sri BioAesthetics is engaged in the Business of R&D with special reference to developing products based on plant microbiomes for soil and plant health management. The company aims to develop innovative agricultural inputs for integrated crop management with special reference to improve nutrient use efficiency by the crop plants, mitigate abiotic and biotic stress environments by mapping out core and base microbiomes associated with specific crop soils, plants and insect microbiomes. The ultimate aim of the company is to develop costeffective delivery systems

(products)for sustainable agriculture. In line with the above initiative, Sri BioAesthetics developed a translational technology platform called MyAgriBiome. MyAgriBiome is an innovative platform which allows, to efficiently capture and screen the most diverse and unique microbial collection and develop products for agriculturally relevant applications. The idea is to restructure/reengineer the crop microbiome (microbiome engineering) for improving and sustaining the nutrient supply in the soils and enhancing the health and yield of crops through sustainable practices based on microbial technologies.

What changes in market behavior do you predict in the future, and what opportunities do you see?
Though intensive agriculture over the past few decades resulted in achieving sufficiency in food and allied production, it left behind several ill effects including topsoil depletion, ground water contamination, unwanted gas emissions and several health hazards and impacting social fabric of the rural communities. Thus, sustainable agricultural practices are emerging and being encouraged globally. Replacement of chemicals by biological inputs is an important practice. It falls on companies like ours to feed the current populations without compromising on the needs of the future generations. I see it as huge market opportunity as every hectare of agricultural land can benefit from microbial/biological products.

What are your future goals, and how do you intend to pursue them?
In the next five years, we aspire to be the country's no.1 Agri biotech organization, utilizing microbiome engineering concept for crop nutrition,crop disease management, soil health management,and crop protection. Today, we have abundant infrastructure, particularly scientific talent, and we must leverage them for the benefit of agriculture in our own country. At Sri BioAesthetics, we strive to empower all our farmers, distribution systems, and cross-organizational partnerships.