The 1973 oil crisis prompted P.M. Bhargava to write directly to Dr. Nayudamma, the new CSIR Director-General, warning that India could not afford to fall behind in biotechnology (ethanol as a biofuel took off in 70s led by Brazil). This led to a committee, and on April 1, 1977, CCMB was formed on paper, evolving from the Department of Biochemistry