NITI Aayog, the Indian government's policy think-tank, has unveiled a roadmap to build a $691 billion [1] bioeconomy by 2035.
This initiative seeks to position India as a global leader in biotechnology by bridging the gap between laboratory research and commercial viability. By targeting critical sectors like healthcare and agriculture, the government aims to create high-skill jobs and reduce reliance on foreign biotech imports.
The strategy centers on six national biotechnology missions designed to strengthen capabilities in industrial biotechnology, disease surveillance, and agriculture [2]. To support these goals, the think-tank proposed a growth fund of Rs 50,000 crore [3]. This risk fund is specifically intended to bridge the R&D “valley of death” — the precarious phase where promising research fails to secure the funding necessary for commercial scaling [4].
India's bioeconomy has seen rapid expansion over the last decade. The sector was valued at $10 billion in 2014 [5]. By 2025, that value rose to $195.3 billion [6]. Currently, the bioeconomy contributes 4.8 percent to the national GDP [7].
The roadmap emphasizes a multi-pronged approach to ensure sustainable growth. By focusing on disease surveillance and healthcare innovation, the government intends to bolster public health infrastructure, and simultaneously drive economic output through industrial biotech applications [2, 4].
“India targets a $691 billion bioeconomy by 2035.”
The scale of this roadmap indicates a strategic shift toward high-value manufacturing and biological research. By addressing the 'valley of death' with a dedicated risk fund, India is attempting to move beyond being a provider of low-cost generic pharmaceuticals to becoming an innovator in complex biotech, which could significantly alter its trade balance and healthcare autonomy.
