Dr Jitendra announces RDI fund national call to boost private sector Biotech projects

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today announced the first national call for the BIRAC-RDI Fund, marking a major push to scale high-impact biotechnology innovations under the Government of India's ?1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) initiative.

- 

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences; and MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh 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.

The launch event was attended by Dr. Vinod Paul, Member, NITI Aayog; Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology; Dr. Jitendra Kumar, Managing Director, BIRAC; senior officials from DST and ANRF, industry leaders, venture capital representatives, and members of the scientific community.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said that over the past decade, India has moved from policy hesitation to policy acceleration in biotechnology. 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 dollars in 2014, has expanded rapidly, placing India among leading global players.