By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : September 04, 2026 10:47 am
Planned as a recurring platform, the future editions are proposed across different cities to connect regional biotechnology innovation ecosystems with investment networks
Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, has launched BIO-NIVESH, a strategic platform aimed at strengthening engagement between biotechnology innovators and investors and accelerating the flow of private capital into promising biotech innovations.
The platform was launched during a joint roundtable with startups and investors, bringing together 20 high-potential biotechnology and deep-tech startups and around 50 investors.
Calling investment critical to translating scientific innovation into commercial impact, Singh said, “Innovation is incomplete without investment, while investment will not sustain itself without innovation.” He stressed the need for closer collaboration among innovators, investors, industry and government to build India’s biotechnology ecosystem.
Singh suggested that the sector could explore a “Big Five in Five Years” approach, aimed at creating a few large anchor biotechnology companies that could help strengthen the wider startup ecosystem. He said focused resources directed towards building such companies could create an environment in which other startups also grow and scale.
The Minister said the objective should be to create an ecosystem where “science meets capital, innovation meets industry and research meets the market.” While government support can help reduce early-stage risks, he said private capital will be essential for building enterprises, scaling technologies and taking innovations to global markets.
Singh also urged investors to look beyond individual funding rounds and assess a company's technology, intellectual property, development pathway, market opportunity and potential to build globally competitive businesses from India.
At the same time, he encouraged startups to engage investors early, noting that strategic investors can bring more than capital, including industry expertise, manufacturing capabilities, partnerships, market access and global networks.
Singh highlighted the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, which has an outlay of Rs. 1 lakh crore, under which BIRAC has been designated as a Second-Level Fund Manager for biotechnology and allied sectors.
According to the Minister, the framework is expected to facilitate long-term, patient capital for technology developers, startups and companies working in strategic biotechnology areas, particularly those approaching technology translation, scale-up and innovation-led manufacturing.
He said public funding alone cannot take every promising innovation to the market and that government support should play a catalytic role by reducing early-stage risk, demonstrating technological potential and making innovations more attractive to private investors.
Singh said biotechnology could drive India’s next industrial revolution, adding that the country must avoid repeating its experience of being a late entrant during the IT revolution.
He pointed to the opening of the space sector to private participation and recent policy moves in the nuclear sector as examples of how enabling government policies can create investment interest in sectors that were previously largely closed to private players.
The inaugural edition of BIO-NIVESH has been designed as a two-way engagement platform, rather than a conventional startup pitching or investor-connect programme.
The first session featured direct Startup–Investor Connect, with 20 startups selected based on factors including innovation, development stage, market potential, scalability and regulatory readiness.
The second session involved an interactive discussion between Singh, investors and startups covering access to capital, commercialisation, scale-up and policy support.
The Minister said BIO-NIVESH should ultimately be measured not by the number of pitches or meetings, but by the partnerships created, investments mobilised, technologies scaled and products brought to market.
The programme was attended by Dr Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, DG-BRIC and Chairman, BIRAC; Dr Dhananjay Tiwary, Senior Advisor, DBT and Managing Director, BIRAC; and Prashant Prakash, Founding Partner, Accel India, along with representatives from the startup and investment communities.