Decade of Healthcare Transformation Positions India as Global Leader: Dr Jitendra Singh

Union Minister of State for Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh asserts that India’s decade-long healthcare transformation under PM Modi’s leadership has elevated the nation from a generic medicine supplier to a global biotech powerhouse, delivering affordable innovation to 140 countries during COVID-19 while building sovereign capabilities in vaccines, genomics, and AI diagnostics. Addressing the 3rd Biotech Innovators Conclave 2026, Singh highlighted India’s strategic positioning at the forefront of the precision medicine revolution.
India’s biotech sector, valued at $130 billion (15% CAGR), leads globally in affordable vaccines, supplying 60% of childhood immunisation doses worldwide through 300+ CDMOs. GenomeIndia sequenced 10,000+ diverse genomes, establishing population-specific references powering polygenic risk scores and pharmacogenomics. BharatGen and IndiGen initiatives create the world’s most representative genomic datasets, leveraging 4,600+ population groups unmatched elsewhere.
Multi-omics platforms integrate genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics, catalysing systemic disease modelling from cancer immunotherapy to Alzheimer’s prediction. Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC), Faridabad, hosts Asia’s largest repository supporting AI-driven drug discovery, while Anusandhan NRF allocates ₹50,000 crore funding to academia-industry consortia.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission creates the world’s largest digital health ecosystem with 60 crore ABHA IDs enabling seamless interoperability. CoWIN platform vaccinated 2.2 billion doses, establishing G2C digital excellence benchmark. Recent milestones include CAR-T cell therapy commercialisation, nasal COVID vaccine, and Zika monoclonal antibodies, showcasing end-to-end innovation capabilities.
Dr Singh emphasised ethical genomic sovereignty under the DPDP Act alongside global collaborations, positioning India as a multi-omics research vanguard.