Draft national health research policy proposes overhaul of India’s research ecosystem
The Department of Health Research (DHR), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has released a draft National Health Research Policy for public feedback
The draft is the first attempt at a unified national framework spanning biomedical science, clinical medicine, public health, epidemiology, digital health, health systems, behavioural sciences, and emerging technologies
It proposes a National Health Research Agenda (NHRA) as the central coordinating instrument, to be drafted, coordinated, and periodically updated by the DHR
A new National Health Research Stewardship Committee is proposed as a high-level body to align research funding with the country's actual disease burden and healthcare needs
The policy targets increasing government health research spending from the current 0.024% of GDP to 0.072% by 2037, and further to 0.15% by 2047, aligned with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision
Research in digital health, artificial intelligence and data science in health, cell and gene therapy, obesity, and climate change and health has been identified as a priority area
The policy proposes expanded use of the ICMR Impact of Research and Innovation Scale (ICMR-IRIS), a 2025 framework, to evaluate research by real-world impact rather than publication count alone
Department of Health Research (DHR) vs Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
The Department of Health Research is a department of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, created in September 2007 (formally launched October 2007, functional from November 2008) to give health research administrative and budgetary standing distinct from healthcare delivery. ICMR is the apex, autonomous biomedical research body — originally established in 1911 as the Indian Research Fund Association and redesignated ICMR in 1949 — and functions under the administrative umbrella of DHR, which channels government funding to it.
Key Details
- DHR created by amendment to the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, on 17 September 2007
- ICMR: est. 1911 (as IRFA), renamed ICMR in 1949; operates a network of 30-plus national institutes
- DHR administers schemes such as Human Resource Development for Health Research (HRD), Virology Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs), and Multi-Disciplinary Research Units (MRUs) in government medical colleges
- DHR is the nodal department that will draft and periodically update the proposed National Health Research Agenda
The draft policy formalizes DHR's coordinating role over the entire health research ecosystem (not just biomedical research under ICMR), extending oversight to digital health, health systems, and behavioural sciences.
National Health Policy, 2017 — Public Health Expenditure Target
The National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 set an overarching target to raise government health expenditure from about 1.15% of GDP to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. The new draft research policy operates alongside this broader health-spending goal but sets a separate, much smaller, dedicated trajectory specifically for health research spending — currently just 0.024% of GDP.
Key Details
- NHP 2017 target: overall public health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025 (from ~1.15%)
- Draft health research policy target: government health research spending to rise from 0.024% of GDP to 0.072% by 2037 and 0.15% by 2047
- India's total (public + private) R&D spending across all sectors has historically remained below 0.7% of GDP, low relative to countries like the US (~3.5%) and China (~2.4%)
- Both targets are non-binding policy aspirations, not statutory mandates
The draft research policy is best understood as a sector-specific research-financing complement to NHP 2017's broader public health expenditure goal, addressing a historically neglected sub-component: dedicated R&D investment in health.
Research Evaluation Reform — ICMR-IRIS
The ICMR Impact of Research and Innovation Scale (ICMR-IRIS) is a 2025 evaluation framework introduced by ICMR to assess research based on real-world health impact — such as policy adoption, clinical translation, or public health outcomes — rather than relying solely on traditional bibliometric measures like publication counts and journal impact factor.
Key Details
- Introduced by ICMR in 2025
- Represents a shift from output-based (publications) to outcome/impact-based research evaluation
- The draft policy proposes expanding its use across the wider health research ecosystem covered by the National Health Research Agenda, not just ICMR-funded projects
Embedding ICMR-IRIS more broadly signals an institutional shift in how India intends to measure returns on the proposed higher research spending, tying funding accountability to demonstrated impact.
Viksit Bharat 2047 — Long-Term Policy Anchor
Viksit Bharat 2047 ("Developed India by 2047") is the Union government's long-term vision framework targeting India's transition to a developed economy by the 100th year of independence (2047). Sector-specific policies, including this draft health research policy, are increasingly framed with milestones pegged to this 2047 horizon.
Key Details
- 2047 marks the centenary of India's independence
- Sectoral roadmaps (health, research, manufacturing, energy) are being aligned to interim and 2047 targets under this framework
- The draft health research policy's phased targets (2037 interim, 2047 final) mirror this pattern of interim-plus-terminal milestones
The phased 0.024% → 0.072% (2037) → 0.15% (2047) trajectory for health research spending is explicitly positioned as part of the broader Viksit Bharat 2047 agenda for self-reliant health technologies and India-specific evidence generation.
- DHR established: 17 September 2007 (functional from November 2008)
- ICMR established: 1911 (as Indian Research Fund Association), renamed 1949
- Current government health research spending: 0.024% of GDP
- Target: 0.072% of GDP by 2037; 0.15% of GDP by 2047
- NHP 2017 overall public health expenditure target: 2.5% of GDP by 2025 (from ~1.15%)
- ICMR-IRIS evaluation framework introduced: 2025
- Priority research areas named: digital health, AI/data science in health, cell and gene therapy, obesity, climate change and health