In one of the most consequential health care announcements of Union Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled Biopharma Shakti—a Rs10,000 crore, five year programme aimed at positioning India as a global hub for biologics, biosimilars and advanced pharmaceutical research.
The initiative—fully titled Strategy for Healthcare Advancement through Knowledge, Technology and Innovation—signals a decisive shift in India’s public health priorities as the country’s disease burden moves away from infectious diseases toward non communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer and autoimmune disorders.
As per the Economic Survey 2025-26, NCDs like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancers account for more than 57 percent of all deaths in the country.
In her Budget speech, Sitharaman said biologic medicines, which form the backbone of modern treatment for many of these conditions, are becoming increasingly central to both longevity and quality of life.
“As India’s disease burden shifts toward cancer, diabetes and autoimmune disorders, biologics and biosimilars will be central to improving longevity and quality of life,” says Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson, Biocon Group. “This initiative—spanning manufacturing scale-up, global-grade regulation, new NIPER (National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) institutions and a nationwide clinical trials network—can firmly position India as a global biopharma manufacturing hub.”
The programme intends to “build the ecosystem for domestic production of biologics and biosimilars”, a step-change from India’s long-standing strength in small molecule generics. The agenda is clear—India should not just be a large market for biologics, but also a global manufacturing base for high value, high complexity therapies.
A key feature of the strategy is a significant expansion of India’s pharma education and research infrastructure. The government will set up three new NIPERs while upgrading seven existing ones, creating a tighter, more specialised network focussed explicitly on biopharma innovation. “It will also create a network of over 1,000 accredited India Clinical Trials sites,” the finance minister added.
India’s clinical trials ecosystem has traditionally been fragmented, with capability concentrated in a handful of metros and inconsistent quality across sites—which makes this announcement very significant.
Industry stakeholders believe that this programme is well-timed and much needed. “If implemented with speed and a strong regulatory focus, this initiative could help make access and affordability easier while also making India a credible biopharma manufacturing and innovation destination globally,” says Hari Kiran Chereddi, MD & CEO, HRV Pharma.
The Budget also proposed strengthening the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) by creating a dedicated scientific review cadre and onboarding specialist expertise. Global investors and multinational pharma firms have long cited India’s regulatory bottlenecks as a deterrent. “A strengthened CDSCO review architecture can materially shorten development timelines while raising compliance with global benchmarks. Alongside targeted customs rationalisation for critical inputs and therapies, this creates the conditions for India to scale as a trusted biomanufacturing and R&D hub,” says Sachin Joshi, founder and managing director, PharmNXT.
These key elements, make Biopharma Shakti, “not just another government scheme”, believes Santosh Moses, partner and pharma, biotech and life sciences leader, Grant Thornton Bharat. “It marks the moment India moves from being the world’s ‘back-office pharmacy’ to becoming an innovation engine,” he explains.
For investors and professionals, the message is clear. “The future of Indian pharma is not only about making medicines more affordable, but also about making them more advanced. India is shifting from ‘Make in India’ for volume to ‘Discover in India’ for value,” says Moses.
First Published: Feb 01, 2026, 13:47
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