Lok Sabha Question No. 5454 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: Bio-RIDE Scheme
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Dharambir Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5454 ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026

## Bio-RIDE Scheme

## 5454. Shri Dharambir Singh:

## Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of progress made under the Bio-RIDE Scheme;
- (b) the steps taken by the Government to promote biotechnology startups in India;
- (c) the achievements of Biopharma SHAKTI initiative;
- (d) the role of science diplomacy in international cooperation; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  establish  any  new  research  or  innovation  centres  in Haryana including Bhiwani-Mahendergarh region and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY & EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a) The  Union  Cabinet  in  its  meeting  held  on  18-09-2024  approved  continuation  of  DBT schemes  namely,  'Biotechnology  Research  &  Development',  'Industrial  &  Entrepreneurship Development'  and  a  new  component  of  'Biomanufacturing  &  Biofoundry'  as  one  scheme 'Biotechnology  Research  Innovation  and  Entrepreneurship  Development  (Bio-RIDE)'.  BioRIDE  scheme  has  been  designed  to  foster  innovation,  promote  bio-entrepreneurship,  and strengthen India's position as a global leader in biomanufacturing and biotechnology. It aims to accelerate  research,  enhance  product  development,  and  bridge  the  gap  between  academic research and industrial applications. The scheme is part of the Government of India's mission to harness  the  potential  of  bio-innovation  to  tackle  national  and  global  challenges  such  as healthcare, agriculture, environmental sustainability, and clean energy.

The Department and it's Public Sector Undertaking 'Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance  Council'  have  been  supporting  research,  development  &  innovation  projects  in biotechnology  sector  along  with  human  resource  development  and  scientific  infrastructure support  which  has  resulted  in  generation  of  several  publications,  patents  and  also  training  of manpower.  The  DBT's  ongoing  efforts  align  with  its  vision  of  harnessing  the  potential  of Biotechnology as a precision tool for national development and well-being of society to fulfill its mission to make India globally competitive in Biotechnology research, innovation, translation, entrepreneurship,  and  industrial  growth  and  be  a  US$300  billion  Bioeconomy  by  2030.  The significant achievements of the Bio-RIDE scheme are as follows:

-  India's first in Human Gene Therapy with lentiviral vector for Severe Hemophilia A in a single  center  study  resulted  in  an  annualised  zero  bleeding  rate  in  all  the  5  subjects enrolled with the production of Factor VIII
-  'Framework  for  Exchange  of  Data  Protocols  (FeED)'  and  the  Indian  Biological  Data Centre (IBDC) Portals were launched, making 10,000 whole genome samples accessible to researchers across India and the globe
-  Scientific completion of India's First Indigenous Antibiotic, Nafithromycin, to Combat Drug Resistance was launched
-  Data  Driven  Research  to  Eradicate  TB  -  'Dare2eraD  TB'  programme  completed sequencing  of  20000  TB  genomes,  Garbh-Ini,  the  pregnancy  cohort  completed  the enrollment of 12000 pregnant women to find solutions for better birth outcomes
-  National BioPharma Mission (NBM) has successfully delivered 02 COVID-19 vaccines, ZyCoV D and Corbevax, biosimilar Liraglutide for diabetes, pegylated interferon alpha2b  for  COVID-19,  first  indigenous  MRI  scanner,  single-use  bioreactors,  09  Covid-19 diagnostic kits, ventilators and reagents
-  In  a  collaborative  study,  the  BRIC-THSTI  and  RCB  researchers  have  identified  7D,  a small molecule from a library of compounds that has shown promising results in  vitro and mice against dengue virus
-  Two drought-tolerant chickpea varieties ADVIKA and SAATVIK developed by BRICNIPGR under this DBT program have been selected as promising pulse cultivars in SelfReliance in Pulses Mission Initiative. These improved seed varieties contribute to over 30%  of  the  total  breeder  seed  indent  highlighting  their  significant  adoption  among chickpea varieties released so far.
-  Kisan-Kavach, an anti-pesticide suit designed to combat the pervasive threat of pesticideinduced toxicity in agricultural settings was unveiled,
-  IndRA: The first-ever 90K Pan-genome SNP genotyping array IndRA developed for rice has been commercialized for public use,
-  CIFA-Brood-Vac' has been developed which can prevent diseases and mortality of fish spawn
-  Bacterial Blight resistant introgressed rice variety 'Patkai': developed by AAU- Assam was notified by Central Variety Release Committee (CVRC)
-  A rice variety ADT 39-Sub1 with tolerance to submergence released in 2025
-  A drought resistant rice variety 'Arun' was developed by Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam and Assam Rice Research Institute, Titabar
-  An Engineered Glucoamylase Secreting yeast strain as an import substitute during grain fermentation  for  1G  ethanol  production  was  developed,  A  total  of  52  bioinformatics centers across the country are advancing and enabling cutting-edge biomedical research.
-  Echoing the Hon'ble Prime Minister's call for youth participation on 15 th of August 2025, Dr.  Jitendra  Singh,  Minister  of  State  (IC)  for  Science  and  Technology,  launched  the "D.E.S.I.G.N  for  BioE3  Challenge"-themed  "Empowering  Youth  to  Solve  Critical Issues of their TIMES' to empower grassroots innovators, foster youth-lead change, and strengthen India's journey towards sustainable and self-reliant bioeconomy
-  Union  Cabinet  Chaired  by  the  Prime  Minister  Shri  Narendra  Modi  has  approved  the continuation of the Biomedical Research Career Programme (BRCP), Phase-III (2025-26 to  2030-31),  with  another  six  years  (2031-32  to  2037-38),  to  service  fellowships  and grants approved till 2030-31, at a total cost of Rs. 1500 crore with DBT and WT, UK contributing Rs.1000 crore and Rs.500 crore respectively
-  A  recent  experiment  on  the  Axiom-4  mission,  successfully  validated  the  potential  of microalgae for space-based applications. On the other hand, a first proof of concept for the  growth  of  cyanobacteria  on  urea  in  microgravity  was  achieved.  Further,  human muscle regeneration was significantly impaired in microgravity, with reduced mitochondrial function and slower differentiation,
-  DBT  and  IndiaAI,  an  Independent  Business  Division  (IBD)  under  the  Digital  India Corporation,  which  is  under  the  MEITY  signed  an  MoU  on  18 th August  2025  for leveraging their respective expertise in biotechnology and artificial intelligence to drive innovation and development in India
-  Signing  of  a  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MoU)  between  DBT  and  ISRO  for Cooperation in 'Space Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing' in October 2024, DBT and the Government of Assam on signed an MoU to set up a BioE3 cell and to formalize a strategic collaboration
-  'Guidelines  on  Genetically  Engineered  Plants  Containing  Stacked  Events,  2025'  were notified
-  'Operational  Guidelines  for  Implementing  Scientific  Entrepreneurship  and  Research Commercialization at iBRIC' were notified
-  Animal Biosafety Level-3 (ABSL-3) Facility for Non-Human Primates was established at the Primate Research Centre, BRIC-National Institute of Immunology
-  The One Day One Genome mission released 244 annotated genomes
-  75  BioNEST  Centres  and  19  E-YUVA  Centres  are  contributing  to  a  cumulative incubation space exceeding 9,00,000 sq. ft.
-  The  E-YUVA  scheme  of  BIRAC  has  demonstrated  substantial  growth,  expanding  its national  footprint  from  10  to  19  pre-incubation  centres  across  15  States  and  Union Territories
-  India's bioeconomy has expanded from about USD 10 billion in 2014 to over USD 195 billion in 2025, reflecting a massive growth trajectory over the past decade
-  BioE3 Policy  is driving Sustainable Biomanufacturing as Over 11,800 Startups Power India's Expanding Bioeconomy
-  India's Bioeconomy Contributes Nearly 5% to GDP

(b) The  Department  of  Biotechnology  supports  Biotech  startup  ecosystem  though  it's  PSU Biotechnology  Industry  Research  Assistance  Council  (BIRAC).  BIRAC  plays  a  key  role  in promoting industry-led innovation and supporting biotechnology startups through the structured programmes  across  biotechnology  domains.  BIRAC  implements  a  range  of  programmes  to support research, technology development, and commercialization through incubation, funding, mentoring, and industry partnerships. Key initiatives include:

-  Bioincubators  Nurturing  Entrepreneurship  for  Scaling  Technologies  (BioNEST): Under  this  scheme,  bio-incubators  are  established  at  universities,  research  institutes, colleges,  biotech  parks,  business  incubators,  and  State  S&T  institutions  across  the country.
-  Biotechnology  Ignition  Grant  (BIG): The  Biotechnology  Ignition  Grant  is  BIRAC's flagship early-stage funding programme which provides grant-in-aid support of up to ₹50 lakh for a period of 18 months to startups for establishing proof-of-concept of innovative ideas. The  scheme  also  offers end-to-end support including technical mentoring, regulatory  support,  and  market  linkages,  enabling  translation  of  innovative  ideas  into scalable  technologies.  More  than  1000  startups  and  entrepreneurs  have  been  supported under the BIG programme.
-  Empowering Youth for Undertaking Value-Added Innovative Translational Research  (E-YUVA): This  initiative  promotes  innovation  among  students  and  young researchers  through  the  establishment  of  E-YUVA  Centres  located  within  universities and research institutions across the country. A total of 94 incubation and pre-incubation centres  have  been  established  by  BIRAC  across  25  States  and  Union  Territories, supporting 3000+ startups and student entrepreneurs under the above two schemes.
-  Sustainable  Entrepreneurship  and  Enterprise  Development  (SEED)  Fund: The SEED Fund provides first-equity-based financial support of up to ₹30 lakh per startup to facilitate  the  transition  from  proof-of-concept  to  early-stage  commercialization  and enable startups to attract follow-on investments. To date, the SEED Fund has supported 153 biotechnology start-ups.
-  Launching Entrepreneurial Driven Affordable Products (LEAP) Fund: The LEAP Fund  provides  equity-based  support  of  up  to  ₹100  lakh  per  startup  to  accelerate commercialization and market entry of startups with validated technologies, supporting scale-up,  regulatory  advancement,  and  manufacturing  readiness.  So  far,  62  biotech startups have been supported, catalysing private investment.
-  Social  Innovation  Programme  for  Products:  Affordable  &  Relevant  to  Societal Health (SPARSH) : This initiative leverages biotechnological solutions to address critical societal  challenges.  The  programme  supports  early-stage  social  biotech  startups  by providing  funding,  mentoring,  immersion  opportunities,  and  incubation  support,  while also contributing to employment generation in India. Under the initiative, fellows receive a  monthly  fellowship  of  ₹60,000,  a  mini  kick-start  grant  of  ₹10  lakh,  and  access  to mentorship, laboratory facilities,  immersion  programmes,  and expert guidance in regulatory affairs, IP management, and commercialization.

The Department of Biotechnology also supports a program on Biodesign. The programme works on the principle of -Identify, Invent and Implement. This involves amalgamation  of professionals  and  fellows  from  medical  and  engineering  background,  who  through  immersion programmes identify the need and then design a device or solution to address it. The fellows are encouraged to implement the solution through spin-offs. At present, six Biodesign Centers across the Country twining over 20 leading medical schools and technical institutions are providing the biodesign  capacity  building  and  indigenous  med-tech  innovations.  Since  inception,  more  than 250  med-tech  innovators  have  been  trained  and  more  than  60  Start-ups  created,  through  this initiative.

Further, the Department of Science and Technology (DST), through the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) program, has established incubation centres in academic  and  research  institutions  across  the  country.  These  incubation  centres  leverage  the expertise  of  these  academic/research  institutions  to  promote  S&T  based  Entrepreneurship  and startup ecosystem; by supporting innovators, entrepreneurs and startups.

NIDHI is a comprehensive end-to-end Startup support Scheme to nurture startups from ideation to commercialization. It includes a variety of components for Startups like PRAYAS (for earlystage funding and mentoring), Seed funding and accelerators. For institutions, programs such as NIDHI Technology Business Incubator (TBI), NIDHI Inclusive Technology Business Incubator (iTBI)  and  NIDHI  Centre  of  Excellence  provide  OpEx  and  CapEx  support  for  setting  up  of Startup Incubators.

Other  than  above,  Departments/  Ministries  of  Government  of  India  such  as Department  of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of Micro, Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (MSME),  Ministry  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  and Ministry  of  Defence  are  also  supporting  startups  in  various  technological  domains  including biotechnology.

(c) With  a  view  to  strengthen  the  domestic  biopharmaceutical  sector  and  enhance  global competitiveness  in  biologics  and  biosimilars,  the  Government  has  announced  the  Biopharma SHAKTI scheme with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore over five years with an objective to build a globally  competitive  domestic  ecosystem  for  biologics  and  biosimilars  to  support  affordable healthcare  in  India  and  enable  India  to  emerge  as  a  global  biopharma  manufacturing  and innovation hub.

(d) Science diplomacy is one of the catalytic instruments to support international cooperation, not just in scientific areas but also in various areas of development cooperation with international stakeholders to build a trusted relationship between nations. The Government is taking proactive efforts to adopt innovative ways of pursuing our scientific diplomacy with key partner countries and stakeholder international organisations. The Govt has supported R&D bilateral partnerships with several countries, including Switzerland, Sweden,  Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany,  Canada,  South  Korea,  UK  and  the  USA.  Multilateral  partnerships  have  been established with the European Union, BRICS, G20, Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) and European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). The Govt. through Ministry of Science & Technology has also partnered with international philanthropic organizations such as the Gates Foundation (USA), and the Wellcome Trust (UK).

(e) The  Department  of  Biotechnology  supports  research,  development  and  innovation  project proposals including proposals to establish any new research or innovation centres in institutions across India under the competitive research grant mechanism.

*****