The BIRAC–Research, Development & Innovation (RDI) Fund is a flagship Government of India initiative designed to catalyse high-impact deep-tech innovation and transformative indigenous manufacturing in biotechnology and related sectors. Anchored in the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, the fund focuses on enabling delta-change innovations rather than incremental improvements, with a strong emphasis on global benchmark-setting technologies and national strategic relevance.
The fund supports transformative projects at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 and above, targeting technologies that demonstrate validated proof-of-concept and are ready for further development, scale-up, and commercialization. It prioritises ROI-intensive technologies rooted in advanced science and engineering, often characterised by high uncertainty in functionality, production, adoption pathways, and standards formation. The programme particularly encourages foundational bio-platforms capable of spawning multiple applications and intellectual property families, as well as innovations that reduce import dependence and strengthen India’s manufacturing and supply-chain resilience.
Through a co-investment model offering funding support from ₹5 crore up to ₹200 crore, BIRAC provides patient capital with risk-mitigating support. The fund is structured to cover R&D, scale-up activities, and innovative indigenous manufacturing, including advanced bioprocessing systems, reagents, viral vectors, complex media, and high-value equipment. Support may extend up to 50% co-investment to strengthen private sector R&D and crowd in additional capital.
The initiative spans application domains including healthcare and biopharma, agriculture and food systems, environment and climate solutions, industrial and synthetic biology, bioenergy and circular bioeconomy, AI and machine learning applications in biotechnology, and other emerging interdisciplinary areas aligned with national priorities.