New Delhi, Feb. 26 -- India is making a push to move beyond its dominance in generic drugs and establish itself as a hub for pharmaceutical innovation. The government will invite expressions of interest in March for a Rs.5,000 crore funding corpus aimed at accelerating research in drug discovery, medical technology (medtech), and stem cell therapy, with bid submissions expected in April.

The initiative, part of the Promotion of Research & Innovation in Pharma MedTech Sector (PRIP) scheme-launched in August 2023 for a five-year period-seeks to boost domestic R&D and reduce India's reliance on imported technology.

Also read: DCGI seeks post-market surveillance data on 2 combination drugs within 3 months

"We are planning to float the expr...