The Government of India fired a fresh salvo in the global biotech race with the launch of a Rs 2,000 crore BIRAC–RDI Fund, aimed at turning lab breakthroughs into large-scale businesses under the government’s Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) initiative.
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh launched the first national call for the fund at an official event in New Delhi this week, and said the move signalled that India was “no longer a late starter” but an early mover in cutting-edge life sciences and related technologies.
Big push for biotech innovation
Announcing the first national call for proposals, Singh said the BIRAC–RDI Fund marked a decisive shift from “policy hesitation to policy acceleration” in biotechnology.
India’s biotech startup base expanded from around 50 companies in 2014 to over 11,000 in 2026, the union minister stressed, while he highlighted more achievements. India’s bioeconomy surged from about $8 billion to a whopping $165.7 billion in 2024.
Now, the Centre targets $300 billion by 2030 and $1 trillion by 2047. Singh added that biotechnology would drive the next phase of industrial growth, just as IT powered India’s earlier transformation, as it combined innovation, advanced manufacturing, and new-age entrepreneurship.
How the BIRAC–RDI Fund works
The BIRAC–RDI Fund would be managed by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), which was appointed as a second-level fund manager under the national RDI framework.
BIRAC plans to deploy Rs 2,000 crore over up to five years, with room to scale further, focusing on technologies between TRL‑4 and TRL‑9 through equity, convertible instruments and long-term debt.
TRL stands for Technology Readiness Level, a 9-point NASA-developed scale used to assess the maturity of a technology: TRL-1 denotes ideation while TRL-9 means full, proven deployment.
BIRAC MD Jitendra Kumar said that the agency already supports a nationwide innovation network: more than 100 bio‑incubation centres, over 10 lakh sq ft of incubation space and engagement with over 15 lakh startup entrepreneurs.
Department of Biotechnology Secretary Rajesh S. Gokhale added that the fund was designed for long‑gestation, high‑risk research across biopharma, bio‑industrial manufacturing, bioenergy, blue economy and biocomputation, with the clear goal of moving from research outputs to scalable industrial outcomes.
Space biotech and more
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also noted that India already entered new frontiers, such as space biotechnology, and was preparing for areas like space medicine.
Experiments using Indian-developed kits were underway in space on plant and life sciences, which he said would boost India’s scientific stature and geopolitical standing.
According to the Centre, BIRAC–RDI Fund sits under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), approved by the Cabinet in July 2025 and launched in November 2025, and is anchored by the Department of Science & Technology.
The first national call is now open at https://biracrdiif.org, with Phase 1 applications due by March 31, 2026 for startups, SMEs and industry partners looking to scale high‑impact biotech solutions.
