New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) The government on Friday approved the first national call for the Rs 2,000 crore BIRAC–RDI Fund, under the Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) initiative to boost biotech sector.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra said 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.

He said 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 in 2014, has expanded rapidly, placing India among leading global players.

The minister further added that biotechnology will drive the next phase of industrial growth, much like information technology shaped India’s earlier transformation.

“The coming industrial revolution will be powered by biotech innovation, advanced manufacturing, and new-age entrepreneurship,” he added.

“The RDI Fund has been structured to support long-gestation, high-risk research that requires patient capital and advanced infrastructure,” said Dr Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology and Director General, BRIC.

“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,” said Gokhale, also Chairman of BIRAC.

The objective, he said, 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).

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.

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.

–IANS

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