Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in one of the key allocations in the Union Budget 2026 for the health sector, announced the BioPharma Strategy on February 1.
"BioPharma Shakti, meaning, BioPharma Strategy for Health Advancement through knowledge, technology and innovation. India's digital disease burden is observed to be shifting towards non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer and autoimmune disorders," Sitharaman announced in her budget speech.
This dedicated initiative aims to build India into a global biopharma hub, as per Sitharaman, which is expected to strengthen the life sciences and biotechnology ecosystem.
Under the initiative, a Rs 10,000 crore outlay has been allocated over the next five years to boost domestic biopharmaceutical capabilities, which includes research, manufacturing capacity, and innovation.
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"Biologic medicines are key to longevity and quality of life at affordable costs. To develop India as a global biopharma manufacturing hub, I proposed the Biopharma Shakti with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crores over the next five years. This will build the ecosystem. For domestic production of biologics and biosimilars, the strategy will include a biopharma-focused network with three new national institutes of pharmaceutical education and research, popularly known as NIPERS, and upgrading seven existing ones," she said.
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Sitharaman also proposed to create a network of 1,000 accredited India clinical trials sites. The proposal is being made to strengthen the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation to meet global standards and approve timeframes through a dedicated scientific review and specialists.
Previous budget allocation for the health sector:
Under the Union Budget 2025, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was allocated Rs 99858.56 crore. The Department of Health and Family Welfare was given Rs 95,957.87 crore and the Department of Health Research was allocated Rs 3,900.69 crore.
