The approval, granted to the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology, was announced during a session on ‘Policy, industry, and capital for Mangaluru’ at the sixth edition of Mangaluru Technovanza‑2026. The centre will be built at the College of Fisheries in Mangaluru and is slated to cost about ₹60 crore.
The move follows a cabinet meeting held in Mangaluru on September 18, where ministers gave in‑principle consent to upgrade the College of Fisheries into a full‑fledged fisheries university. The upgrade would raise student intake from the current 60 to 200 per year, although the complete university status could take up to five years to materialise.
The newly approved Centre of Excellence is intended as an immediate step toward that upgrade and is expected to be operational within a year. Once the university status is achieved, officials say it will broaden its research remit to include oceanography and maritime engineering, alongside traditional fisheries studies.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier earmarked the centre in his 2026‑27 budget, highlighting its role in fostering biotechnology‑based industries, new technology development and mariculture – the controlled cultivation of marine organisms such as fish, shellfish and seaweed. Mariculture is promoted as a sustainable, high‑growth alternative to conventional marine fishing, offering both protein‑rich food and livelihood opportunities.
State officials see the initiative as a way to generate skilled human resources for the maritime sector and to position Karnataka as a hub for marine biotechnology and sustainable aquaculture.