 post-independence years were full of optimism. The country was involved in the task of nation building. Into this charged atmosphere was born a baby girl to R.I. Mazumdar and his wife, Yamini. Little did they know that the baby girl whom they had prophetically named Kiran would one day become a leading beacon in the field of biotechnology in India. Kiran is a pioneer who started Biocon in India way back in 1978, at a time when the world at large and India in particular were focusing on the new mantra of information technology. As a child, I actually wanted to be a doctor. And since I was interested in biology, I opted for medicine. Of course, I didn't get into medical college because they found me psychologically unfit to pursue medicine. So that was a big setback for me. What ended up happening after that was that I had to sort of reconcile myself into pursuing a B.S.C. honors degree and zoology honors. After many frustrating attempts to get a job, she abandoned her efforts and decided to move to Scotland as an assistant brewmaster. Before I left for the U.K. to take up this new assignment, I actually was approached by an Irish entrepreneur, Les Orkinclos, who was very keen to set up a biotech operation in India. Kiran did not have any management skills and more important, absolutely no expertise in biotechnology. Within the first few years, Biocon India's turnover reached two and a half million dollars. It now stands at a whopping 50 million dollars. Today, Biocon India is the largest producer and exporter of industrial enzymes and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Kiran's products are exported practically all over the world. South Asia, Far East Asia, Russia, South America, the United States of America, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. It's been a combination of people and innovation, people and creativity and what we really believe in is getting ordinary people to do extraordinary things. The future plans are focused on cutting-edge biotechnology for the production of human therapeutics. These include human insulin, anti-cancer monoclonal antibodies and a number of other recombinant therapeutics. At 35, Kiran was the youngest woman to receive India's coveted honor, the Padma Shree, from the President of India, an achievement that rightfully did her friends and family proud. Kiran has gone on to win many such honors by focused dedication to her work and other social causes. Kiran has been a pioneer in biotechnology in India. Since then, the government has set up a department of biotechnology for the purpose of building a skilled base in it. Today, this initiative has resulted in the setting up of premier research institutes such as the Center for Cellular Biology at Hyderabad. The National Center for Biological Sciences at Bangalore. The National Center of Immunology at New Delhi. And the Institute of Microbiology Technology at Chandigarh. Today at 47, Kiran has scaled heights that very few women have been able to. She can proudly look back at her achievements and her contribution to society and feel content. But Kiran doesn't have the habit of looking back, only ahead. It's very apparent today that biotechnology has a very, very pivotal role to play in a global way in terms of agribiotech, in terms of pharmaceutical biotech and in terms of, of course, enzyme technology and environmental biotechnology.