The India BioEconomy Report (IBER) 2026, developed by the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE), was unveiled by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh, at the 14th Foundation Day celebration of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), in New Delhi on 19 March, 2025.
In 2025, the BioIndustrial and BioServices segments significantly contributed to the growth. This is the first time such a change in phase is noticed since the formal measurement of BioEconomy began a decade ago.
India’s BioEconomy added $29.6 billion in 2025 to reach $195.3 billion from $165.7 billion in 2024, with contributions from the key sectors- BioIndustrial ($90.2 billion); BioPharma ($64.5 billion); BioServices ($26 billion); BioAgri ($14.6 billion). This 18 per cent growth is the highest witnessed in the last few years.
As the BioEconomy grows, its contribution to the national GDP has also touched a high of 4.8 per cent, from a just 4.2-4.3 per cent share in the last few years.
As patents for several leading GLP-1 therapies begin to expire later in the decade, Indian pharmaceutical companies are expected to play an increasing role in biosimilar development, peptide manufacturing, and contract development services. This is expected to increase the BioPharma BioEconomy significantly in the next 2-3 years.
In recent years, however, multinational pharmaceutical companies have increasingly distributed parts of this work across global networks. Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have emerged as a key mechanism through which companies are expanding research, analytics, and regulatory capabilities in India. Today, India hosts more than 150 healthcare and life sciences GCCs, employing over 300,000 professionals across functions such as clinical research, bioinformatics, regulatory science, data analytics, and digital health platforms.
Further, India’s biotechnology startup ecosystem continued to strengthen in 2025, with the cumulative number of registered biotech startups rising to 11,855 from 10,075 in 2024. In 2025 alone, 1,780 new biotech startups were established, compared with 1,544 in 2024, representing growth of roughly 15 percent.
"As India aims towards its long-term vision of building a $1 trillion BioEconomy by 2047, sustained collaboration among government, academia, industry and startups will be essential to translate scientific knowledge into technologies that benefit society and strengthen India’s leadership in the global BioEconomy", said Dr Jitendra Singh.
