Hotspots & growth opportunities in biomanufacturing

THE Indian bioeconomy has grown from US$ 10 billion in 2014 to US$ 165.7 billion in 2024, and is likely reach US$ 300 billion by 2030.

- Vandana Iyer

The country has also witnessed an exponential rise in biotech startups in the past decade, as shown in Figure 1 below: India witnessed an almost 200-fold increase in biotech startups in the past 10 years.

The launch of Government of India policies such as BIRAC funding schemes (BIG (Biotechnology Ignition Grant), SEED (Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development) and LEAP (Launching Entrepreneurs for Affordable Products), the BioE3 Policy (India's "Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment" policy) and e-platforms such as Startup India have significantly accelerated the growth of the innovation ecosystems for Indian biotech post-2017.

As shown in Figure 2, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are the leading biotech hubs in Indial. In September 2025, the Government of India launched High Performance Biomanufacturing Platforms, a joint initiative of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).

This newly launched network comprising advanced biofoundries and biomanufacturing hubs will use tools such as synthetic biology, omics technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning to advance developments across the Indian biotech, healthcare, agriculture, energy, climate, and food industries.

India already has over 21 biofoundries, compared to a global hub of 100, which positions India as an important innovation hotspot in global biomanufacturing space.

Key drivers and challenges impacting Indian biomanufacturing sector

The Indian Government is currently focused on six thematic sectors for driving biomanufacturing growth, which are shown below: