Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began her ninth straight Union Budget for the fiscal year 2026–2027 on Sunday, February 1, 2026. During the Budget 2026-27 session, the government announced 'Biopharma Shakti', meaning a biopharma strategy for health advancement through knowledge, technology, and innovation. India's disease burden is observed to be shifting towards non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer and autoimmune disorders.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "India's disease burden is observed to be shifting towards non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer and auto-immune diseases. Biological medicines are key to longevity and quality of life at affordable costs. To develop India as a global bio-pharma manufacturing hub, I propose the bio-pharma, Shakti, with an outlay of 10,000 crore over the next five years."
"It will also create a network of 1,000 accredited India clinical trials sites. We propose to strengthen the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation to meet global standards and approve timeframes through a dedicated scientific review and specialists," she added.
