CSIR National Botanical Research Institute Lucknow

Name

CSIR National Botanical Research Institute Lucknow

Legal name

CSIR - National Botanical Research Institute

Website

https://nbri.res.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Botanical Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Non-Timber Forest Products Management (Resins, Gums, Mushrooms, Berries) (AFAMAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Essential Oils & Forest Aromatics Distillation (NTFP-Based) (AFAMAFAG)

Keywords

• Botanical research services
• Herbal formulation development
• Agricultural biotechnology research
• Environmental remediation technologies
• Plant genetic improvement

Headquarters

HQ city

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: Primary revenue from CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. Additional funding from various government agencies including DBT, DST, SERB, ICAR, and AYUSH Ministry for specific research projects.
2. Sponsored Research Projects: Research projects funded by various government agencies including DBT, DST, SERB, NMPB, MOEFCC, ICAR, and industry sponsors. Project-based funding covering research expenditures, infrastructure, and human resources.
3. Technology Transfer and Consultancy: Technology transfer and consultancy services including technology licensing, contract research, and technical services to industry. Revenue generated from developed technologies including herbal formulations, agricultural technologies, and environmental solutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NBRI is a multi-disciplinary botanical research institute that conducts fundamental and applied research in plant sciences and develops plant-based technologies. It produces validated herbal healthcare formulations (e.g., BGR-34 for Type-2 diabetes, URO-5 for kidney stones), improved agricultural crop varieties (low-arsenic rice, opium poppy, Bt cotton, lotus), environmental remediation solutions for arsenic, chromium and microplastics, and provides herbarium-based plant identification, DUS testing, and Ph.D. training through AcSIR.

Product overview

CSIR-NBRI operates as a multi-disciplinary botanical research institute offering a diverse technology portfolio spanning healthcare (herbal formulations for diabetes, kidney stones, dental care, respiratory conditions), agriculture (improved crop varieties including low-arsenic rice, Bt cotton, high-yielding opium poppy, turmeric, lotus; microbial bioinoculants), personal care (herbal sanitizers, dental products, gulal), and cosmetics (herbal colors, nanoserum, perfumes). The institute does not offer a unified software platform but rather individual transferred technologies and products across five categories: healthcare, food/nutraceutical, agriculture, personal care, and cosmetics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BGR-34 Anti-Diabetic Herbal Formulation
• URO-05 Anti-Urolithiasis Herbal Formulation
• NBICOF Herbal Cough Syrup
• Topical Herbal Anti-Candida Gel
• Herbal Anti-Dandruff Hair Care Oil
• Herbal Floor Cleaner and Disinfectant
• Alcohol-Based Herbal Hand Sanitizer Herbal hand sanitizer in liquid and gel form developed by CSIR-NBRI.
• Muktshri Low-Arsenic Accumulating Rice Cultivar
• BT Cotton Technology
• Whitefly Resistance Technology for Cotton
• Mandakini High-Yielding Opium Variety
• Thebaine-Rich Opium Poppy Lines (Ayush NBIHT-3 and Abha NBMHT-4)
• Namoh108 Lotus Agro-technologies Agro-technologies and improved variety for lotus cultivation developed by CSIR-NBRI.
• Turmeric Variety for Northern India
• Microbial Bioinoculants Microbial formulations including Trichoderma-based bioinoculants developed by CSIR-NBRI for crop growth promotion and stress management; covered by Patents No. 326937 (2012) and No. 406461 (2011).
• CROMA-3 Bioavailable Curcumin Bioavailable curcumin formulation developed by CSIR-NBRI for enhanced absorption and inflammation management.
• DUS Testing Centre Services (Bougainvillea, Canna, Gladiolus) CSIR-NBRI is a designated Distinctiveness, Uniformity, and Stability (DUS) testing centre of PPV&FRA for Bougainvillea, Canna, and Gladiolus varieties, providing testing services for plant variety registration and protection.
• AcSIR Ph.D. Program in Plant Sciences Doctoral and postgraduate research programs offered by CSIR-NBRI through the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) in plant sciences, biotechnology, pharmacognosy, and environmental sciences.
• Herbarium (LWG) Plant Identification Services Plant identification, authentication, and raw drug identification services provided through CSIR-NBRI's Herbarium (LWG), recognized as a National Repository by the National Biodiversity Authority with approximately 3 lakh plant and lichen specimens.

Quantifiable outcome

• Low arsenic accumulating rice variety Muktosri IET-21845 developed with rice research center, achieving arsenic levels below MTDI
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CSIR-NCL (National Chemical Laboratory)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-center CSIR projects including COVID-19 multi-center genome surveillance and genome editing research (GE Crops project MLP-0007) with multiple CSIR laboratories including NCL as nodal laboratory.
• CSIR-IHBT (Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative projects on aromatic plants cultivation, processing, and value addition under CSIR Aroma Mission. Joint research on floriculture under CSIR Floriculture Mission.
• CSIR-CIMAP (Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on medicinal and aromatic plants, genome editing for crop improvement (miPEP project), and biotechnology applications in plant sciences.
• ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on cotton technology development, floriculture mission, and plant genetic resources with ICAR institutions including CICR, IARI, and others.
• DBT (Department of Biotechnology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor funding source for biotechnology research including genomics, molecular biology, genome editing, and biotechnology applications in agriculture and environment.
• DST (Department of Science and Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding support for scientific research projects including SERB-funded research, DST-sponsored projects on climate change, biotechnology, and environmental technologies.
• AYUSH Ministry / NMPB (National Medicinal Plants Board)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding and collaborative research for medicinal plant authentication, pharmacognosy standardization, traditional medicine validation, and herbal formulation development.
• MOEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding for biodiversity conservation, threatened plant species conservation, environmental technology development, and NBRI-EIACP Programme Centre.
• PPV&FRA (Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDUS (Distinctiveness, Uniformity, and Stability) testing center for Bougainvillea, Canna, and Gladiolus varieties. Registration of new plant varieties.
• Hemstreet Medicare Pvt LtdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored research project for development and standardization of cannabis extract-based AYUSH formulations including Vijay Vati, Trailokya Vijaya Vati, and Kameshwara Modaka.
• Hempstreat Medicare Pvt LtdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored research for developing standardized cannabis extract-based AYUSH formulations under GMP conditions.
• Boheco ( Bombay Hemp Industries)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded by Tata Trusts and Atulya Krishi Foundation for cannabis breeding and genetic improvement for industrial and medicinal purposes.
• ICRISATminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on plant genetic resources and agricultural biotechnology applications.
• GBPIHED (G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on biodiversity management, Himalayan ecosystem studies, and environmental conservation in mountainous regions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Syngene International: India's leading contract research organization with significant biotech and natural product research capabilities. Syngene provides CRO services that include phytochemistry, herbal product development, and biotech R&D—adjacent to NBRI's medicinal plant research and pharmaceutical partnership capabilities.
• Bombay Hemp Company (Boheco): Tata Trusts-backed cannabis research and product company engaged in NBRI-funded cannabis breeding and genetic improvement research. Boheco focuses on industrial and medicinal hemp applications in India, representing a private emerging player in the same cannabis/medicinal plant research frontier that NBRI is pursuing.

Direct peers

• ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology: ICAR's premier plant biotech research institution where current NBRI Director Dr. Shasany previously served. Conducts genomics, molecular biology, and genetic improvement research with similar agricultural biotechnology focus, providing direct talent and project pipeline overlap.
• CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT): CSIR sister lab specializing in Himalayan bioresources, aromatic plants, and floriculture. NBRI and IHBT collaborate on the CSIR Aroma Mission and Floriculture Mission, both pursuing similar technology development and commercialization of aromatic plant-based products.
• CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP): Sister CSIR laboratory also focused on medicinal and aromatic plants research with active Aroma Mission collaboration. CSIR-CIMAP shares NBRI's mandate on pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, and crop improvement for medicinal plants, and they have joint genome editing (miPEP) projects together.

Others

• Dabur Research Foundation: Private R&D arm of Dabur, India's largest Ayurvedic products company, with established pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, and herbal formulation capabilities. DRF represents a downstream commercial partner/customer profile for NBRI's herbal formulations and traditional medicine validation, comparable in technical domain though commercially driven.

Regional players

• Chinese Academy of Sciences - Kunming Institute of Botany: Major Chinese botanical research institute with herbarium (~1.5M specimens), medicinal plant research, and plant genetic resource conservation. Kunming Institute operates at scale similar to NBRI's botanical garden and herbarium functions with an Asia-Pacific focus, representing a regional peer in institutional plant science R&D.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World-leading botanical research and conservation institution based in the UK. Kew operates as a benchmark for herbaria, plant biodiversity documentation, and botanical science globally, providing a comparable international reference for NBRI's herbarium and conservation mandate.

Broad incumbents

• ICAR-Indian Council of Agricultural Research: India's apex agricultural research body comprising 100+ institutes, with which NBRI collaborates on cotton technology, floriculture, and plant genetic resources. ICAR operates at much larger scale across crops and disciplines, representing the broader incumbent in which NBRI's specialized plant science work sits.
• Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB): Kerala-based government research institute with broader mandate in biotechnology, disease biology, and plant science. RGCB is a comparable Indian government R&D institution with similar research scope in life sciences and biotech, plus technology transfer activities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/csirnbrilko
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@csirnbriofficial?si=FzFxx65HWnEkB2TT
• Facebookfacebook.com/share/1dXqfz9oDM
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/csir-national-botanical-research-institute-lucknow

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CSIR National Botanical Research Institute Lucknow