The first national call for the ₹2,000 cr BIRAC–RDI Fund was announced recently, 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.
The Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund is a ₹1 lakh crore Government of India initiative to strengthen deep-tech research, development, and innovation aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. Under the aegis of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), the RDI Fund aims to catalyse private sector participation by supporting Eligible Technology Entities in undertaking innovative R&D and transformative manufacturing. The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is an implementing partner (Second-Level Fund Manager) of the RDI Fund for biotechnology and allied areas.
The BIRAC-RDI Fund supports translational projects in biotechnology and related areas that are at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 and above, facilitates the acquisition and development of technologies of critical and strategic importance, and enables access to patient capital for long-gestation R&D, technology scale-up, and innovation-led manufacturing and deployment. This is part of India’s broader efforts to enhance national capabilities in deep technology, promote technological self-reliance, and position India as a global innovation leader.
Applications for the fund must articulate a significant, non-linear leap in performance, cost, or efficacy that renders current solutions obsolete. Preference shall be given to First-in-Class innovations that offer a 3x to 10x "Delta Change" in performance, cost-efficiency, or environmental footprint over current global benchmarks.
The fund will support innovations across biotechnology and related areas aligned with national priorities including- Health & Biopharma, Agriculture & Food systems, Environment & climate solutions, Industrial & synthetic biology, Bioenergy & circular bioeconomy, AI & machine learning, Emerging inter-disciplinary fields, Import substitution, Strategic manufacturing