Will India Become a Leading Biotech Hub by 2030?

Many times, saving someone’s life comes down to administering the right drugs at and for the right time. And this is not just true for human lives, but for the life of the earth itself, if one is looking to achieve sustainability. Let’s take a case in point to understand this better. If there was a biotechnology breakthrough that allowed all the detergents in the world to be 100% bio-based, then it would reduce the discharge by 10 tons of chemicals every minute. That’s good news for the planet too, and that’s just how important innovation in biotechnology is, for both human beings and Planet Earth, our home. 

Why We Are Discussing the Possibility

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit hard, particularly the second wave, India did not back down. It retaliated with a homebrew vaccine just in the nick of time and vaccinated hundreds of millions of people in a relatively short span of time. This was made possible by the knowledge, creativity, and ingenuity of the biotech researchers we have in India. Given just this singular contribution, we might safely assume that India will indeed be a leading Biotech Hub by 2030 because it is already on the right path.

5 Reasons Why India Will Become a Leading Biotech Hub by 2030

But this article must go beyond assumptions to understand if becoming a leading biotech hub is possible by 2030. To do this, we have analyzed India’s progress in biotech in terms of infrastructure, government support, actual economic growth, and demographics. Let us now look at 5 great reasons why we think India will become a leading biotech hub and break into the top 5 by 2030. We will also look at the roadblocks and understand why this may not happen.

1. Existing Status and Infrastructure is Very Strong

India today is globally the third-largest producer of vaccines globally. As of today, India has the largest number of FDA-approved plants in pharma outside of the US, 650 to be exact. India also has the space and the infrastructure existing in major cities to support the growth of pharma, particularly the Genome Valley in Hyderabad.  

These facts are by itself proof of the fact that the Indian pharma industry is growing at a rapid rate is well on its way to become a leading biotech hub. But this then raises the question. Is it possible to become a leading biotech hub by 2030?

2. We Have Government Support

The Government of India has the right kind of focus. At the Global Bio India 2024 event held in September at Pragati Maidan, the Union Minister for State for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, celebrated the unveiling of 30 breakthrough pharma startups, the Government of India believes will make India a global biotech hub.

With the government embracing and encouraging innovation and foreign investment, it is likely that this number of breakthrough startups would be at least a 100 by 2030. The National Biopharma Mission, a key government initiative, is expected to transform the biotech industry by bringing 5-7 products within reach of the end customer at a cost of $250 million.

3. We Have the Right Action Plan

The action plan for future India is also great and Biotech is right at the center. Bio E3 – Developments in Biotech that support the 3 Es - Economy, Employment and Environment. This means that sufficient measures will be taken to ensure that the economic boom seen from the growth of biotechnology in the country will also lead to employment opportunities and have a sustainable impact on the environment, reducing damage and recycling as much as possible by the year 2030.

4. Unprecedented Economic Growth in Biotechnology

India’s biotech economy also skyrocketed from $10 billion in 2014 to $130 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $300 billion by 2030. Considering that the market size of biotech is expected to reach $3.2 trillion by 2030, this gives India near about 10% market share and possibly places it ahead of China which is forecasted to have about $262 billion by 2030.

And China is presently one of the leaders in biomanufacturing. India could be enjoying the elite company of other countries such as the US (world leader) in another five years! The number of startups has witnessed astronomical growth beginning at 52 in 2014 and reaching 9000 plus as of 2024.

5. Many Races, One Country: A Unique Advantage

Last, and most importantly, India is a land of many races and ethnic groups, and unlike many other countries of the world, it is not one with a single dominant race of people constituting most of the country natively.

This means that the genetic markers will vary, and this will prove incredibly useful for clinical trials of new drugs especially when the drugs need to be made available to many countries across diverse ethnic groups and races. A large population is also a strength to quickly scale an industry, especially bio-manufacturing.

The Impact on the Biotech Job Market in India

The sector will create an additional 1 million new jobs by 2030, thanks to the advancements in biopharma, biomanufacturing, and bio-agriculture. There will be a huge demand in the following sub-sectors in biotechnology.

R&D: Opportunities such as bio-scientists and other positions in bio research.

Quality Control: Ensuring compliance with stringent quality and safety standards set by regulatory bodies.

Regulatory Affairs: Ensuring statutory compliance to avoid the risk of penalties or loss of reputation.

Agro-biotechnology: Focusing on sustainable practices in agriculture, which will increase yield and revenue for farmers.

Bioinformatics & Data Analysis: Analyzing the huge amount of data and making sense of it.

There are Concerns and Roadblocks However

With government support and relaxed regulations, at a vantage with technical expertise and even the right infrastructure, and most importantly existing experience in biotechnology, India is uniquely positioned to become a leading biotechnology hub by 2030. However, there will be a few roadblocks along the way, the two most important among them being the lack of technology R&D.

India recently announced a corpus of 1 trillion INR for research and development funding (GERD). But with India’s GDP at a little over 184 trillion INR, it is still hovering around 0.5-0.6% of the GDP, far lower than the investment by many developed countries. And since biotechnology advancement will need homebrew tech advancements, this could be a huge obstacle. Another point of concern is India’s planning in the past, which by and large has not been successful, though the economy has itself been resilient and managed to develop at a rapid pace.

Closing Words

If we go purely by the numbers, and overlook a few minor niggles, there is a lot to be optimistic about, and there is hope that we could become a leading biotechnology hub by 2030, at least big enough to be featured in the AI-powered snippet at the top of a casual search. To become a world leader will still take a lot more effort and careful planning. It is not impossible because we have achieved so much already. But it is all too easy to rest on one’s laurels. This should not happen to us.