RAS question
India's National Biopharma Mission is called:
Correct answer: (C) Innovate in India (i3).
India's National Biopharma Mission is called Innovate in India (i3), an Industry-Academia Collaborative Mission for accelerating discovery research to early development for biopharmaceuticals.
Explanation
Innovate in India (i3) is the substantive name of India's National Biopharma Mission. BIRAC describes NBM as an Industry-Academia Collaborative Mission for accelerating discovery research to early development for biopharmaceuticals, with the expanded line "Innovate in India (i3) Empowering biotech entrepreneurs & accelerating inclusive innovation". The source also identifies the Department of Biotechnology as the funding agency, notes that the programme is co-funded by a World Bank loan, and names BIRAC as the implementing agency. This matches the explanation: the mission is meant to help India become a hub for designing and developing novel, affordable and effective biopharmaceutical products, rather than merely digitising pharmacy services or branding domestic manufacture.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Digital Pharma suggests digitisation of pharmacy or health services, while the cited BIRAC page names the National Biopharma Mission as Innovate in India (i3).
- (B) Make in India Pharma is only a manufacturing-style phrase; the cited mission is framed around industry-academia collaboration and early biopharmaceutical development under Innovate in India (i3).
- (D) BioIndia is not the mission name given by BIRAC; the official page refers to the National Biopharma Mission as Innovate in India (i3).
Concept
This tests government biotechnology missions under Science and Technology, especially the link between institutional implementers and scheme names. It recurs in RAS because DBT-BIRAC programmes connect innovation policy with health, industry and applied research.