India Home To Nearly 6,000 Biotech Startups: MoS Jitendra Singh

Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh on Saturday (July 8) termed biotech startups as crucial  to shaping India’s future economy. 

While highlighting the exponential growth of the sector in the country, Singh said that the number of biotech startups in the country has soared from 50 in 2014 to nearly 6,000  currently.

“We had just about 50 Biotech Startups eight to nine years back, now we have around 6,000, so, I think, we still need to have more,” said Singh during an event in New Delhi. 

While noting that the biotechnology industry has the potential to become an instrument of global trade, Singh added that the country’s bioeconomy has witnessed significant growth in the past few years, increasing from $8 Bn in 2014 to $100 Bn currently. 

He also expressed confidence that the sector will continue to flourish and will reach the $150 bn mark by 2025. Singh also said that homegrown biotech startups could emerge as ‘instruments’ of manufacturing in the country. 

Singh made the comments during a discussion organised by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on fostering its bio-manufacturing initiative. The event was also attended by other senior bureaucrats including DBT Secretary Rajesh Gokhale, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) chairman Jitendra Kumar, among others. 

The statement comes at a time when the centre has undertaken a slew of measures to strengthen the country’s biotech sector and promote biotech startups. Last year, the government launched a single-window national portal for startups and researchers seeking regulatory clearance for biological research.  In August 2022, the government also announced 75 ‘Amrit’ grants for collaborative biotech initiatives involving startups and academia. 

Besides, BIRAC also offers grants of up to INR 50 Lakhs, under the BIG Scheme, for budding biotech startups to validate their ideas, develop prototypes and establish proof of concept. 

The initiatives have spurred the local biotech ecosystem which has also invited a lot of attention from the investors. In April this year, dairy-focussed biotech startup Zero Cow Factory raised $4 Mn in a seed funding round led by Green Frontier Capital, GVFL and Pi Ventures. 

In April, another biotech startup Nkure Therapeutics raised an undisclosed amount of funding as part of its pre–Series A round from Endiya Partners, Kotak Investment Advisors, among others. Delhi-based Bioheaven360 Genotec also bagged INR 1 Cr funding from Digital Futurists Angel Network  back in January this year. 

As per a report, the Indian biotech ecosystem is projected to reach a market size of $150 Bn by 2025 largely on the back of growing healthcare demands and a skilled workforce.