National Agri Food Biotechnology Institute
Mohali

Mandate

The institute was established to provide food and nutritional security through agri-food biotechnology research and innovation. The mandate of NABI is to be a center of excellence and provide leadership in agri-food biotechnology research to improve the nutritional quality and availability of affordable agri-food and food products through innovations. The institute is part of an agri-food cluster in the “Knowledge City” of Mohali (Punjab) and its neighboring institutes.

Campus

The campus is located in Sector 81, Mohali. The institute is part of the agri-food cluster in the “Knowledge City” of Mohali (Punjab) and its neighboring institutes.

Research Focus

The main research focus of NABI is to harness biotechnological tools in the areas of Agriculture Biotechnology, Food Science and Technology, and Nutritional Science to provide sustainable and novel solutions towards quality food and nutrition. Activities undertaken at NABI could be classified into five major areas: a) Improving Cereals for nutrition and processing quality; b) Improving fruits for post-harvest quality and nutrition; c) Basic Biology for crop improvement; d) Functional food for better health, and e) Genomics and Computational biology for marker and gene discovery.

Human Resource

The institute currently has 10 scientists and around 70 Research Fellows, supported by 08 technical staff and 08 administrative staff.

Key Scientific Achievements

Major achievements in the last 5 years (2017-22) are as follows:

• NABI has undertaken an institutional “Flagship program” entitled “High resolution QTL mapping for Fe, Zn, grain protein and phytate content and their introgression in high yielding wheat cultivars�. The program collaborates with seven national institutions, bringing researchers to a common platform for sharing resources and eventually delivering wheat grains with enriched micronutrients and proteins. Functional genomics strategies for improving micronutrient transport and its bioavailability in wheat are included in this program.
• Wheat lines have been developed containing high amylose and with low glycemic index (GI) along with improved agronomic traits. These improved genotypes provide nutritional benefits and good processing of high amylose for consumer acceptance.  
• Development of Banana enriched with Provitamin-A content using genome editing technique.
• Developed edible coating material to enhance the post-harvest shelf life of fresh fruits. This product helps enhance the shelf life of the fruits such as apple, bananas, and pears.
• Approved for use: High Value Products Viz. Nutraceuticals and Therapeutic Proteins using Sustainable Algae System; Recombinant Production of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids of bacteria from High Altitude Lakes of Indian Himalayas; Fabricated nanomaterials in food for enhancement of micronutrients bioavailability and food safety.
• The faculty and students at NABI have received key fellowship awards for their scientific contributions, such as Fulbright Nehru Fellowship, Newton Bhaba fellowship, Humboldt Fellowship, Rothamsted International fellowship, and INSA - NASI Fellowship.
• The institute regularly organizes outreach and public engagement events such as its Open Days, participation in India International Science Festival, Global Bio India, Science Setu webinars (VigyanManthan), Nobel Prize Series, etc. The institute also has organized several visits by school students to its premises.