Parliament Question: Budget on Research and Activities

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4789 TO BE ANSWERED ON20th MARCH,2026 BUDGET ON RESEARCH AND ACTIVITIES 4789. SHRI ARUPCHAKRABORTY: Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate: (a) the details of the expenditure incurred on research activities taken up by medical colleges and hospitals as a percentage of the GDP of the country; (b) whether such institutions are unable to utilise their research budgets fully due to a lack of facilities and if so, the details thereof; and (c) whether the Government intends to augment supplement the research budget for public medical colleges and hospitals and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SMT. ANUPRIYAPATEL) (a) to (c): Health Research in India is carried out by Department of Health Research (DHR) as well as other Departments of Central Government like Department of Biotechnology, Department ofScienceandTechnologyincludingAnusandhanNational ResearchFoundation, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Pharmaceuticals, and Department of Atomic Energy apart from the institutions like All India Institutes for Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Public funding continues to be the major source of fund for meeting the expenditure onhealthresearch inthe country. Department of Health Research has released Rs. 144.07 crore during the year 2025-26 to various medical colleges and government hospitals for the development of research infrastructure and undertaking research. Funds released during the year under various schemesare asunder:Name of Scheme Amount (incr) Viral Research andDiagnostic Labs(VRDL) 52.81 Multi-disciplinary Research Unit (MRU) 61.99 HealthTechnologyAssessmentinIndia(HTAIn) 6.89 DHR-ICMR Advanced Molecular Oncology 17.15 DiagnosticServices(DIAMOnDS) CentreofGuidelines 5.23 ****