Harshvardhan Bhagchandka, President, IPL Biologicals
Agricultural innovation company IPL Biologicals is coming up with a new automated and modern manufacturing unit in Gujarat, which is expected to go on stream by June this year. The Gurugram-based firm plans to launch commercial operations in Uzbekistan, said Harshvardhan Bhagchandka, the company’s President.
IPL Biological currently has a plant in Haridwar that produces biological products. “We are a pioneer in biologicals. We have our research. It’s an old one that we opened in 2008. We manufacture high-quality products of liquid powder and granules. This year, we have begun making water-soluble formulation, and farmers will begin using it,” he told businessline in an online interaction.
IPL Biologicals has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to set up a facility in the State at an outlay of ₹400 crore. “In the first phase, the company is spending ₹200 crore, and the plant is nearing completion. We expect the commercial production of the first batch in June. It will be one of the best in the world for manufacturing microbials,” the company’s President said.
Uzbek unit
The company has acquired “a lot of land” in Gujarat and the project will come up in three phases.
The company will begin commercial sales of its products in Uzbekistan this year. Cotton is a big crop in the former Soviet Union region, and IPL Biologicals carried out a lot of trials over the past 2-3 years. “Uzbek President (Shavkat Mirziyoyev) took an interest in this because the country imports a lot of pesticides. After seeing good results, we started registering our products. We will start our commercial sales over there this year,” said Bhagchandka.
Since the Uzbek government is keen on local manufacturing, IPL Biologicals will look at setting up a manufacturing unit there once its sales reach a “certain level”, he said.
The company’s board had approved $10 million a year and a half ago to invest in registrations abroad. But it takes time, and the cost varies. “Currently, we are registering our products in the biggest markets like North America, South America and Europe. These registrations will be done directly by the company,” he said.
Success in cotton
It is registering its products in parts of Africa and South-East Asia, too. “We are working with local partners who will do source registration. We plan to sell our products in around 40-plus countries in the next 5-7 years,” Bhagchandka said.
On pest attacks in cotton, IPL Biologicals, which sells 98 per cent of its production in the domestic market, Bhagchandka said it was one of the “biggest success stories” for the company, as its microbes had successfully tackled white fly in the natural fibre crop.
On the pink bollworm menace in cotton, he said it has come up with a product after a lot of trials and the results are good. The product has been launched in the market, but the challenge is to get farmers to use it instead of depending on chemicals that they have been using for generations.
IPL Biologicals has recently entered into a strategic partnership with AFEPASA, one of Europe’s most established sulfur manufacturers for nutrition and pesticides. Bhagchandka said his company has signed a joint venture with AFEPASA to globally register their nematode product.
Pact with PAU
“We will invest in the registration together and once the registration comes, we will have friendly competition because they will sell under their brand and IPL will sell under its brand,” he said.
IPL Biologicals, in collaboration with Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), has developed and launched Agenor, a bio-fungicide aimed at controlling footrot disease in paddy crops. PAU has worked on a fungal disease that stunts the growth of paddy.
IPL Biologicals has signed an MoU to take it and make it “market-ready”. “We did some engineering on how to make it a quality product from that strain in a cost-effective manner. Then it took us a little bit longer to get the registration, but finally we have launched it,” he said.
Filed for 34 patents
The company, which focuses on biological products, has a team of 40 scientists. However, India does not provide patents for microbes, which are available in nature, while countries abroad do. On the other hand, it provides process patents.
“We thought that if we want to go out and convince farmers in other countries to use our products, we need to have these patents where we can showcase our strength. So this is how the journey of our patents started,” he said.
IPL Biologicals has 19 granted patents, and it has filed for 34 patents so far. The company, which has a strength of 930 people, is present in 21 States across the country.
Published on April 10, 2025
