Deadline: 01-Jul-2026
The Grand Challenges India (GCI–BIRAC) has launched an open call to support indigenous innovations in infectious disease screening and diagnostics across India. The program funds high-impact diagnostic solutions for tuberculosis, emerging pathogens, syndromic panels, and enteric diseases. Funding ranges from INR 50 lakh to INR 2 crore depending on project stage, with durations up to 18 months.
Grand Challenges India (GCI–BIRAC) Diagnostics Innovation Call Overview
The initiative aims to strengthen India’s capacity for developing affordable, scalable, and accessible diagnostic technologies for priority infectious diseases. It supports early-stage research and product development focused on transforming how diseases are detected and managed at or near the point of care.
The program encourages high-risk, high-reward innovation that can lead to practical diagnostic solutions for widespread use in healthcare systems.
Key Focus Areas
The call prioritizes innovation in infectious disease diagnostics, including:
- Tuberculosis (TB) screening and diagnosis
- Emerging infectious pathogens detection
- Syndromic diagnostic panels for multiple infections
- Enteric pathogen identification
It particularly emphasizes:
- Near point-of-care diagnostic technologies
- Ultra-low-cost diagnostic solutions
- Scalable and field-ready innovations
- Consortium-based and multidisciplinary collaborations
- Academic–industry–clinical partnerships
Program Objectives and Support
The program aims to:
- Accelerate development of innovative diagnostic technologies
- Improve accessibility and affordability of screening tools
- Strengthen India’s infectious disease surveillance capacity
- Support translation of research into deployable products
- Encourage collaboration across research, clinical, and industry sectors
Support provided includes:
- Financial funding for R&D and prototyping
- Technical handholding and expert guidance
- Support for scale-up and validation
- Pathways toward deployment and real-world implementation
Funding Structure
Two categories of funding are available:
- Exploratory proposals
- Funding: Up to INR 50,00,000
- Duration: Up to 12 months
- Solution / product / technology development proposals
- Funding: Up to INR 2,00,00,000
- Duration: Up to 18 months
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants include:
- Indian academic and research institutions
- Public and private R&D organizations
- Startups and technology ventures
- Not-for-profit foundations
The program strongly encourages:
- Multidisciplinary teams
- Consortium-based applications
- Collaboration between academia, industry, and clinical partners
Expected Impact
The initiative is designed to:
- Improve early detection of infectious diseases
- Reduce diagnostic costs and improve accessibility
- Strengthen India’s diagnostic innovation ecosystem
- Enable faster translation of research into market-ready tools
- Support scalable healthcare solutions for national and global use
Conclusion
The Grand Challenges India and BIRAC initiative provides a structured funding opportunity to accelerate innovation in infectious disease diagnostics. By supporting scalable, low-cost, and high-impact technologies, the program aims to improve early detection and strengthen healthcare response systems across India.
For more information, visit BIRAC.