India's bio-economy may touch $ 300 billion by 2030, says report

New Delhi: India’s bio-economy can touch $ 300 billion in the next five years, nearly doubling from the $ 165.7 billion in 2024, according to a new biotech industry report.

The biotechnology-driven economy has witnessed a remarkable 16-fold rise in the last 10 years, from $ 10 billion in 2014 to an impressive $165.7 billion in 2024, with Maharashtra and Karnataka being top two states in the sunrise sector.

The sector contributes 4.25% to the overall GDP and has shown a compound annual growth rate of 17.9% over the past four years, showcasing India’s potential as a global biotech powerhouse like the US and China, says the India Bio-economy Report, 2025 prepared by the Association of Biotechnology-led Enterprises (ABLE) for Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council.

"This is just the beginning. India's bio-economy can grow to contribute 10-12% of the GDP over the next decade, potentially elevating India into the ranks of world’s top bio-based economies," said Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology.

The report — released by the Union Science Minister Jitendra Singh on March 21 — projects India’s bio-economy market size to cross the $ 200-billion mark by 2027 and reach the $ 300-billion milestone by 2030. The growth rate is likely to be over 10% from FY 2026 onwards. The $ 150-million mark was touched in FY 2023.

"A key milestone highlighted in the report is the growth of India's bio-startup ecosystem, which has now surpassed 10,075 startups, showcasing the country’s dynamic innovation landscape," said GS Krishnan, ABLE president. The number of start-ups rose by almost ten times in the last nine years.

The two biggest areas for growth would be bio-medical and bio-industrial sectors that may increase to $ 128 billion and $ 121 billion respectively by 2030. These are to be followed by bio-services ($ 42.2 billion) and bio-agriculture ($ 39.3 billion).

The report comes a few months after the Union Cabinet approved the Bio-E3 policy — Biotechnology for Economy, Employment, and Environment — which seeks to promote bio-manufacturing activities and bio-foundries besides generating the skills and manpower for the technology-driven sector.

Maharashtra and Karnataka are the two top-performing states with the bio-economy size of $ 35.5 billion and $ 32.7 billion respectively, followed by Telangana (nearly $ 20 billion), Gujarat ($ 13 billion) and Andhra Pradesh ($ 11 billion). The future growth is also projected mostly in the southern and western regions.