Government Enhances Health Research Funding and Framework
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has significantly increased budgetary allocation for health research, with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) budget rising from ₹2,732.13 crore in Budget Estimates 2024–25 to ₹3,125.50 crore in Budget Estimates 2025–26 and further to ₹4,000.00 crore in Budget Estimates 2026–27. The 2026–27 allocation represents a 21% increase over the Revised Estimates for 2025–26 of ₹3,150.00 crore.
ICMR has rationalized and expanded its grants architecture to support research proposals based on scale, maturity, risk, and translational stage. The new structure includes Small or ANVESHAN Grants of up to ₹2 crore, Intermediate or NISCHAYAK ANVESHAN Grants ranging from ₹2 crore to ₹8 crore, the First-in-the-World Challenge with stage-linked support of up to ₹8 crore, and Centres for Advanced Research with support of up to ₹15 crore. These instruments support investigator-initiated research, proof-of-concept studies, validation of interventions, high-risk innovation, multidisciplinary research, and advanced research programmes.
Strategic Research Initiatives
ICMR has launched several strategic research funding grants including: Top-Tier Global Leadership Funding Scheme to elevate global ranking of top-ten NIRF-ranked medical institutions; ICMR–National Medical Commission Joint Call for top-100 NIRF-ranked medical institutions to enhance quality of medical education; ICMR Initiative for Strengthening Intramural Research in three Central Government Medical Colleges, Delhi; and the MAHA-MedTech mission in collaboration with Anusandhan National Research Foundation and Gates Foundation to accelerate innovation in medical technology.
Additional initiatives include the ICMR Clinical Care Excellence Initiative for multi-centre clinical trials addressing non-communicable diseases; Special Call for Proposals for Establishment of ICMR Centre for Advanced Research for developing priority medical devices and diagnostic technologies addressing ~100 unmet clinical needs; and Multistate Implementation Research Study to improve coverage of high-quality palliative care interventions.
Technology Development and Biopharma Initiative
ICMR supports 22 extramural research projects for frontier technologies including development of recombinant vaccines, biologics, cell and gene therapies, Robotics and AI-tools. Specific projects include CAR-T cell therapy, Robotics-based targeted therapy for cancer, cardiac massaging, and root canal treatment. The organization has supported indigenous development of 97 medical devices/diagnostic technologies and cost reduction for 11 technologies, with over 60 innovative projects supported in the First in the World challenge.
The Government has announced the Biopharma SHAKTI scheme with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore over five years to build a globally competitive domestic ecosystem for biologics and biosimilars. The scheme aims to support affordable healthcare, strengthen clinical trial infrastructure, promote collaboration between academia and industry, and encourage domestic innovation and manufacturing capabilities with a long-term goal toward innovation leadership including AI-designed biologics and advanced therapies.