India is accelerating its biotechnology ambitions through the implementation of the BioE3 Policy Biotechnology for Environment, Economy and Employment aimed at fostering high-performance biomanufacturing and strengthening the country’s innovation ecosystem. The policy, approved by the Union Cabinet, is being jointly implemented by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) to support startups, SMEs, industries and academic institutions through shared infrastructure and advanced research facilities.
As part of the initiative, DBT and BIRAC have launched India’s first Biofoundry Network across eight academic institutions. The network is designed to enable bioproduction scale-up at academic laboratories and accelerate the translation of biotechnology discoveries into commercially viable solutions. The initiative forms a critical pillar in India’s broader objective of building a $300 billion bioeconomy by 2030.
Complementing the academic network, eleven state-of-the-art biomanufacturing platforms have been established across industry locations in the country. These facilities provide shared infrastructure to support pilot and pre-commercial scale production of bio-based technologies in sectors such as microbial biomanufacturing, sustainable agriculture, smart proteins, functional foods, precision biotherapeutics, marine biotechnology, carbon capture and advanced cell and gene therapies.
Together, the biofoundries and biomanufacturing platforms are expected to accelerate India’s transition to clean and green technologies while reducing import dependence and strengthening domestic capabilities across health, agriculture, food, energy and environmental sectors.
The BioE3 framework focuses on multiple emerging biotechnology domains, including bio-based chemicals, bioplastics, enzymes and active pharmaceutical ingredients; functional foods and alternative proteins; precision biotherapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies and mRNA therapies; climate-resilient agriculture technologies; biofuels and carbon capture systems; as well as futuristic marine and space biotechnology research.
BIRAC, established by the Department of Biotechnology in 2012, has been central to building India’s biotechnology startup ecosystem by providing structured support from idea generation to commercialization. Through a series of targeted programmes, the agency supports innovators with funding, incubation infrastructure, regulatory guidance and industry partnerships.
Among its flagship initiatives is the Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG), which provides grant support of up to ₹50 lakh for early-stage innovators to develop proof-of-concept technologies. Over the past thirteen years, the programme has supported more than 1,000 projects, led to the development of over 200 products and facilitated the creation of more than 800 intellectual property assets. Startups supported under the programme have also attracted over ₹3,500 crore in follow-on investments.
To help startups move from proof-of-concept to early commercialization, BIRAC operates the Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (SEED) Fund, which offers first-equity investments of up to ₹30 lakh through a network of BioNEST incubators. So far, 153 startups have been supported under the scheme, collectively raising more than ₹1,162 crore in follow-on funding and generating over 300 intellectual property assets.
The Launching Entrepreneurial Driven Affordable Products (LEAP) Fund further supports startups with validated technologies by providing equity investments of up to ₹100 lakh for scaling up production, achieving regulatory readiness and entering markets. Sixty-two startups have received support under this programme and have together raised over ₹893 crore in additional investments.
BIRAC also runs several public-private partnership programmes to strengthen industry-academia collaboration and accelerate technology development. These include the Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI) for early-stage validation, the Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP) for scaling high-risk innovations, and the Promoting Academic Research Conversion to Enterprise (PACE) scheme, which helps academic research translate into commercial products.
Through these programmes, hundreds of projects have been supported, resulting in new patents, product commercialization and the creation of skilled employment opportunities across the biotechnology sector.
In addition to funding programmes, BIRAC has established a nationwide network of biotechnology incubation and pre-incubation centres through the BioNEST and E-YUVA initiatives. A total of 94 centres have been set up across 25 states and union territories to nurture innovation among students, researchers and entrepreneurs. These incubators have collectively supported more than 3,000 startups, entrepreneurs and student innovators across life science domains including healthcare, agriculture and environmental biotechnology.
To address regulatory challenges faced by emerging biotechnology companies, BIRAC has also established a dedicated Regulatory Affairs and Policy Advocacy unit. Key initiatives include the FIRST Hub, a single-window facilitation platform that connects innovators with regulators such as CDSCO, ICMR, FSSAI and BIS. More than 1,000 regulatory queries have been addressed through the platform so far.
Additional initiatives such as the Regulatory Facilitation for Innovators and Entrepreneurs (REFINE) programme and global regulatory knowledge exchange forums aim to streamline regulatory processes, strengthen compliance readiness and support commercialization of advanced biotechnology products.
According to the India BioEconomy Report 2025, published under the Make in India Programme Management Unit at BIRAC, India’s biotechnology sector has grown rapidly, generating approximately 3.5 million jobs and nurturing more than 10,000 biotechnology startups nationwide.
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, shared these details, highlighting the government’s commitment to strengthening biotechnology research, manufacturing and innovation ecosystems in the country.
With the BioE3 Policy, the government aims to position India as a global leader in sustainable biotechnology, leveraging innovation to drive economic growth, environmental sustainability and large-scale employment generation.
