From the 1950s to the 1970s, scientists and administrators in India held extensive discussions on setting up a National Biological Laboratory. This laboratory did not eventually take shape. However, the conversations around it paved the way for the founding of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in 1977.
This series contains documents that reveal some of the early discussions on the laboratory, including a plan published by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1964 and a note drafted by PM Bhargava in 1972 on the need for such a laboratory.
Bhargava argued that modern biology was connected to other branches of science and needed an integrated approach that involved experts from various scientific backgrounds. He also emphasized the urgent need for India to participate in the biological revolution that was taking place globally, especially in biochemical and biological technology.