Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday announced the first national call for the BIRAC–RDI Fund, a ₹2,000 crore financing window under the government’s ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) initiative aimed at scaling high-impact biotechnology innovations and bridging the gap between laboratory research and industry.
The Minister said the announcement marked a decisive shift in India’s approach to science-led growth and signalled that the country was no longer a late entrant but an early mover in emerging technologies.
The announcement was made at an event attended by Vinod Paul, member of NITI Aayog; Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology; Jitendra Kumar, Managing Director of BIRAC; senior officials from the Department of Science and Technology and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, industry leaders, venture capital representatives and members of the scientific community.
Singh said India’s biotechnology sector had moved from policy hesitation to policy acceleration over the past decade, pointing to the expansion of biotech startups from around 50 in 2014 to more than 11,000 today. He said the bioeconomy, valued at about $8 billion in 2014, had grown rapidly, placing India among leading global players.
He said biotechnology would drive the country’s next phase of industrial growth, similar to the role information technology played in earlier decades, with future advances shaped by biotech innovation, advanced manufacturing and new-age entrepreneurship. The current initiative, he added, aimed to strengthen India’s ability not only to generate ideas but also to industrialise them.
Singh said India had already entered emerging areas such as space biotechnology and was preparing for future domains including space medicine. Biotechnology experiments were being conducted in space using domestically developed kits for plant sciences and life sciences research, positioning India to contribute knowledge and applications of global relevance.
Gokhale said the RDI Fund had been structured to support long-gestation, high-risk research requiring patient capital and advanced infrastructure. He said the fund complemented the BioE3 Policy and would support the development of next-generation products across biopharmaceuticals, bio-industrial manufacturing, bioenergy, the blue economy and biocomputation, with the objective of translating research into scalable industrial outcomes.
Kumar said BIRAC, appointed as a second-level fund manager under the RDI framework, would deploy ₹2,000 crore over a period of up to five years, with scope for expansion. He said BIRAC had built a nationwide innovation ecosystem comprising more than 100 bio-incubation centres, over 10 lakh square feet of incubation space and engagement with more than 15 lakh startup entrepreneurs.
India’s bioeconomy has grown from $28 billion in 2012 to $165.7 billion in 2024, he said, with targets of $300 billion by 2030 and $1 trillion by 2047.
The BIRAC–RDI Fund forms 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, anchored by the Department of Science and Technology. The fund will support technologies from TRL-4 to TRL-9 through equity, convertible instruments and long-term debt.
The national call for applications has been announced, with eligible startups, small and medium enterprises and industry partners invited to submit proposals through the official portal. Phase-1 submissions close on March 31, 2026.
Singh said the announcement underscored India’s intent to lead in biotechnology by combining scientific capability, entrepreneurial momentum and policy support to shape the next phase of industrial transformation.
