NITI Aayog Proposes ₹50,000 Crore Biotech Fund

NITI Aayog released a roadmap on 16 July 2026 titled Roadmap for Building India as a Leading BioEconomy Powerhouse by 2035. The roadmap proposes a ₹50,000 crore BioEconomy Growth Fund for the 2026-2035 period and sets targets for India’s biotechnology sector, bioeconomy expansion, and industrial scale-up.

Bioeconomy and Biotechnology in India

Bioeconomy refers to economic activity based on biological resources, biotechnology, and bio-based industrial processes. India’s bioeconomy was valued at 195.3 billion in 2025, and the roadmap projects it at 691 billion by 2035 and $2.6 trillion by 2047.

Proposed BioEconomy Growth Fund

The proposed fund is designed to address the “valley of death” between proof-of-concept research and commercial-scale manufacturing. It is intended to use blended finance, catalytic equity, viability-gap funding, and infrastructure support for biotechnology enterprises. The fund covers biomanufacturing, advanced therapeutics, synthetic biology, fermentation technologies, and diagnostics. These areas fall within industrial biotechnology and health biotechnology, which are major segments of the global bioeconomy.

Policy Instruments and Mission-Mode Execution

The roadmap includes a dedicated Production-Linked Incentive scheme for biomanufacturing and six national biotechnology missions. It also calls for regulatory reforms to speed up approvals while maintaining safety standards in biotechnology and bioscience applications. Mission-mode execution is a governance approach used in Indian public policy for time-bound delivery, defined targets, and inter-ministerial coordination. The roadmap also places emphasis on a stronger bioscience talent pipeline for research, manufacturing, and regulation.

Important Facts for Exams

Important Facts for Exams

• Biotechnology uses living organisms, cells, or biological systems to develop products and processes.
• Synthetic biology is a branch of biotechnology that designs or redesigns biological systems for useful purposes.
• Fermentation technologies are used in pharmaceuticals, food processing, enzymes, and industrial bio-products.
• Viability-gap funding is a public support mechanism used for projects that are socially useful but not immediately commercially viable.

India’s Biotechnology Ambitions

The roadmap aims to place India among the top three biotechnology powers globally by 2035. It also projects more than 30 million high-value jobs by 2035 across research, manufacturing, diagnostics, and allied bio-industries.