Why India is spending Rs 10,000 crore to turn living cells into medicines
India has launched the Rs 10,000-crore Biopharma SHAKTI mission to lead in biologics and cellular engineering. The five-year plan aims to turn India into a global biopharmaceutical hub.
Under the Biopharma SHAKTI mission, India is building an end-to-end ecosystem to manufacture complex biologics which are sophisticated medicines grown from living cells rather than mixed from chemicals. (Photo: Generative AI by Radifah Kabir/India Today)
In a landmark move to transition from being the world’s pharmacy for generics to a global leader in high-end innovation, the Indian government has launched the Biopharma Shakti mission.
Announced in the Union Budget 2026 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Rs 10,000-crore initiative is set to revolutionise how India manufactures medicines.
By moving beyond traditional chemical synthesis and into the complex world of cellular engineering, the five-year mission aims to capture 5 per cent of the global biopharmaceutical market.
HOW DOES CELLULAR ENGINEERING DIFFER FROM CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS?
Most medicines we take, like aspirin, are made through chemical synthesis. Think of it as a recipe where specific chemicals are mixed in a lab to create small molecules.
These are easy to replicate and store. Biologics, however, are large molecules created within living systems such as specially engineered bacteria, yeast, or mammalian cells.
Instead of a test tube, the factory is a living cell. This cellular engineering allows scientists to create targeted therapies for complex conditions like cancer and diabetes that traditional chemicals simply cannot reach.
Scientists use bacteria or yeast cells as tiny, living factories because these organisms can read genetic blueprints that humans plug into them.
While traditional chemicals are small and simple, cellular engineering produces massive, complex proteins that act like smart keys.
These proteins are designed to ignore healthy tissue and only unlock or attach to specific markers on a cancer cell or a malfunctioning part of the body.
Because these medicines are grown from living matter, they have a natural ability to navigate biological systems and hit precise targets that simple, lab-made chemicals would simply bounce off or miss entirely.
WHAT IS THE SHAKTI MISSION TRYING TO ACHIEVE?
The Biopharma Shakti (Strategy for Healthcare Advancement through Knowledge, Technology and Innovation) mission is a 360-degree plan to build a domestic ecosystem for biologics and biosimilars.
Biosimilars are highly accurate, biological versions of generic drugs, designed to be nearly identical in safety and effectiveness to original, expensive biological medicines grown from living cells.
India currently relies heavily on imports for the precursors needed for these drugs.
The mission will establish three new National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs) and upgrade seven existing ones to create a specialised workforce.
To speed up the journey from lab to pharmacy, the government will also set up a network of 1,000 accredited clinical trial sites across the country.
WILL THIS MAKE MEDICINES MORE AFFORDABLE?
A major focus is on biosimilars, the high-quality, lower-cost versions of expensive branded biologics. By strengthening the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) with a dedicated scientific review cadre, the government aims to bring Indian regulatory timelines in line with global standards.
This ensures that life-saving, indigenously developed biological treatments reach patients faster, reducing the cost of treating chronic diseases.
- Ends