India and the United States (US) should move towards a structured India-Delaware partnership in advanced biomanufacturing, said Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister for Science and Technology, proposing the creation of a small working group to translate discussions into concrete collaborations in research, manufacturing and startup ecosystems.

The proposal came during his meeting of the visiting US delegation led by Delaware Governor Matt Meyer who called on the Minister at Seva Teert. Both the sides focused on bilateral collaboration in pharma, biotechnology, clean energy and innovation-led industrial growth.

Dr Singh underlined that science, technology and biotechnology form a key pillar of the India-US comprehensive strategic partnership, and said India sees “good potential for deeper engagement” with US states that have strong innovation ecosystems. He highlighted India’s emergence as a global hub for biotechnology and pharmaceutical innovation, with capabilities spanning research and development to large-scale and cost-efficient manufacturing.

Pointing to India’s integrated innovation architecture linking government, academia, industry and startups, the minister said the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with 37 laboratories and more than 7,500 scientists, anchors much of the country’s industrial R&D effort. He noted CSIR’s role in national missions ranging from Green Hydrogen and Quantum Technologies to biosciences and biopharma, and its contributions to process development for key drugs.

Referring to Delaware’s bio-science ecosystem, including the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Bio-pharmaceuticals (NIIMBL), Dr Singh said there was “strong potential” for collaboration in advanced biomanufacturing, AI-enabled processes, rapid scale-up technologies and next-generation biologics and vaccines. He suggested that India’s strength in cost-efficient manufacturing, combined with Delaware’s proximity to major US pharmaceutical companies, could support co-development of affordable biologics, biosimilars and vaccines for global health needs.

The Minister also outlined specific avenues for cooperation, including joint advanced biomanufacturing platforms, translational research bridges linking Indian institutions and Delaware research centres, startup and incubation linkages, and workforce co-training in GMP manufacturing, regulatory science and quality systems. Collaboration on regulatory science, standards alignment and resilient supply chains for critical biopharmaceutical inputs was identified as another priority area.

During the interaction, Dr Singh noted that India’s Ministry of Science and Technology directly supports around 150 incubators across academic institutions and universities and that the government has established an INR 1 lakh crore research, development and innovation fund to catalyse private-sector and deep-tech investment. He said these platforms could be leveraged to deepen engagement with Delaware’s research, manufacturing and startup ecosystem.

Governor Meyer described Delaware as a state with a long-standing science and industrial heritage and highlighted its bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing base, expanding port infrastructure and business-friendly environment. Members of the delegation, which included representatives from government, universities and industry, discussed opportunities in clean hydrogen, workforce development, startup incubation and corporate incorporation frameworks.

Concluding the meeting, both sides agreed that a structured working group mechanism would help carry forward discussions into actionable programmes, including joint research calls, startup exchanges and institutional partnerships. The engagement adds a state-level dimension to the broader India-US strategic partnership, with biotechnology and advanced manufacturing emerging as priority areas for the next phase of cooperation.