Measure undertaken to strengthen Health Research

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced a substantial increase in health‑research funding. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) budget rises from ₹2,732.13 crore (2024‑25) to ₹3,125.50 crore (2025‑26) and ₹4,000 crore (2026‑27), a ~21 % rise over 2025‑26. ICMR has re‑structured its grant architecture into Small/ANVESHAN (up to ₹2 crore), Intermediate/NISCHAYAK ANVESHAN (₹2‑₹8 crore), First‑in‑the‑World Challenge (up to ₹8 crore) and Centres for Advanced Research (up to ₹15 crore). New strategic funding schemes include the Top‑Tier Global Leadership Funding Scheme, ICMR‑NMC Joint Call, ANRF‑MAHA MedTech initiative, Biopharma SHAKTI (₹10,000 crore over five years), and several others targeting medical devices, palliative care, and frontier technologies such as recombinant vaccines and CAR‑T cell therapy.