India Launches ₹2,000 Crore BIRAC–RDI Fund to Scale Biotech Innovations

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh announced the first national call for the BIRAC–RDI Fund, marking a major push to scale high-impact biotechnology innovations under the Government of India's ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) initiative. The launch reflects a decisive shift in India's approach to science-led growth and signals that the country is no longer a late entrant but an early mover in emerging technologies.

The launch event was attended by Dr Vinod Paul, Member, NITI Aayog; Dr Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology; Dr Jitendra Kumar, Managing Director, BIRAC; senior officials from DST and ANRF, industry leaders, venture capital representatives, and members of the scientific community.

The Minister said that over the past decade, India has moved from policy hesitation to policy acceleration in biotechnology. The transformation is visible in the expansion of the startup ecosystem, from around 50 biotech startups in 2014 to more than 11,000 today, reflecting what he described as a quantum jump in scale and ambition. The bioeconomy, which stood at about 8 billion dollars in 2014, has expanded rapidly, placing India among leading global players.

India's bioeconomy has expanded nearly sixteen times in the past decade. It has grown from about $10 billion to nearly $166 billion and is expected to touch $300 billion in the coming years. India's bioeconomy has grown from 28 billion dollars in 2012 to 165.7 billion dollars in 2024, with a target of 300 billion dollars by 2030 and 1 trillion dollars by 2047.

The Minister said biotechnology will drive the next phase of industrial growth, much like information technology shaped India's earlier transformation. According to him, the coming industrial revolution will be powered by biotech innovation, advanced manufacturing, and new-age entrepreneurship. He added that the current initiative strengthens India's capacity not only to generate ideas but also to industrialise them.

BIRAC has been appointed as a second-level fund manager under the RDI framework and will deploy ₹2,000 crore over a period of up to five years, with scope for further expansion. BIRAC has built a nationwide innovation ecosystem over the past decade, including more than 100 bio-incubation centres, over 10 lakh square feet of incubation space, and engagement with more than 15 lakh startup entrepreneurs.

The Secretary, Department of Biotechnology said the RDI Fund has been structured to support long-gestation, high-risk research that requires patient capital and advanced infrastructure. The initiative complements the BioE3 Policy and provides a framework to build next-generation products across biopharma, bio-industrial manufacturing, bioenergy, blue economy and biocomputation. The objective is to move from research outputs to scalable industrial outcomes.

The BIRAC–RDI Fund is part of the national RDI initiative approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2025 and launched in November 2025 under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), anchored by the Department of Science & Technology. The fund aims to bridge the gap between laboratory research and industrial-scale manufacturing by supporting technologies from TRL-4 to TRL-9 through a mix of equity, convertible instruments, and long-term debt.

The national call for applications is now open. Eligible startups, SMEs and industry partners can submit proposals through the official portal at https://biracrdif.org. The deadline for Phase 1 submissions is March 31, 2026.

Referring to emerging frontiers, the Minister said India has already entered areas such as space biotechnology and is preparing for future domains like space medicine. Biotechnology experiments are being conducted in space using kits developed domestically, covering plant sciences and life sciences research. He said such efforts position India to contribute knowledge and applications of global relevance, enhancing both scientific stature and geopolitical standing.

Referring to the recently launched BioE3 Policy, the Minister said India is among the few countries to introduce a dedicated biotechnology policy focused on economy, environment and employment, anticipating the global shift towards biomanufacturing and bio-based industries.

On National Science Day, the Minister inaugurated a new state-of-the-art "Central Facility for Recombinant Cells and Sensors" at BRIC-Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (BRIC-RGCB) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The new facility will strengthen India's capabilities in drug discovery as well as medical and agricultural genomics. He also laid the foundation stone for a dedicated GMP facility at the institute. The Minister said the facility represents years of sustained research support and houses a large panel of engineered recombinant cells and advanced screening systems developed through long-term government-funded programmes.