Organizations
The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) is a growing phenomenon. Located in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, RGCB began in 1990 amongst humble surroundings as a small charitable society called the Centre for Development of Education, Science and Technology (C-DEST). In 1991, recognizing its potential, the C-DEST was made a “Grant-in-Aid” institute of the Government of Kerala and renamed as Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Development of Education, Science and Technology (RGC-DEST), becoming the first institute in the country to be named after Sri Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minster of India. In quick time, the institute attained national and international recognition with leading discoveries and findings in medical and plant biotechnology. The institute also received honors for being among the top PhD schools in biotechnology. In 2007 the Union Cabinet of the Government of India took the landmark decision to make RGCB a national research centre.