Union Minister Piyush Goyal holds meeting to strengthen country's biopharma startup ecosystem

According to PIB, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal chaired a high-level roundtable meeting on the theme “Bioeconomy Opportunities in India: The Role of Startups in Fostering Innovation and Growth” at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi. This meeting was organized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in collaboration with NITI Aayog and the NITI Frontier Tech Hub. Policymakers, industry leaders, and biopharma startups participated in this event, aimed at discussing ways to accelerate the growth of the country's bioeconomy.

In his address, Minister Shri Piyush Goyal emphasized the need to position India as a global leader in the bioeconomy by harnessing the country's scientific capabilities and entrepreneurial talent. He highlighted the importance of expedited approvals, better access to capital, shared infrastructure, and strong collaboration between industry, academia, and the government. He also called for taking time-bound action on the suggestions emerging from this meeting.

The main focus of discussion at the meeting was to strengthen the biopharma startup ecosystem. For this, emphasis was laid on simplifying regulations, providing faster approvals, implementing a controlled and restricted testing environment or 'regulatory sandbox', providing 'single window clearance', aligning with global regulations, and simplifying the patent application process.

During this meeting, the importance of 'Biopharma Shakti', announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, was also discussed. Alongside this, the necessity of developing shared infrastructure such as laboratories, testing facilities, and clinical trial facilities was talked about, so that costs can be reduced and startups can scale their innovations.

NITI Aayog Distinguished Fellow Ms. Debjani Ghosh highlighted the importance of collaboration between startups, industry, academia, and the government to build a globally competitive bioeconomy. NITI Aayog Member Prof. Govardhan Das emphasized the need to strengthen research capabilities and transform scientific discoveries into commercially viable products.

Ways to strengthen indigenous 'life sciences' production, expedite custom clearance for laboratory equipment and reagents, and simplify access to government schemes and regulatory support were also discussed at the roundtable meeting. Participants emphasized the need for better coordination among various ministries so that consistent policy measures can be taken and challenges associated with this sector can be resolved swiftly.