The Draft National Health Research Policy, 2026

Context: The Centre’s Department of Health Research has officially released the Draft National Health Research Policy, 2026, for public feedback until July 27.

The Draft National Health Research Policy

About The Draft National Health Research Policy, 2026 :

What It Is?

The policy is India’s first unified national framework designed to span biomedical science, clinical medicine, public health, epidemiology, digital health, health systems, behavioral sciences, and emerging technologies. It treats health research as a national problem-solving architecture rather than a collection of isolated academic studies.

Aim: The policy aims to address long-standing issues in India’s scientific ecosystem, including fragmented research efforts, wide regional disparities in institutional capacity, and slow translation of scientific findings into government policy or last-mile healthcare delivery.

Key Features of the Draft Policy:

Targeted GDP Investment Boost: Proposes a six-fold increase in government spending on health research, raising it from the current 024% of GDP to 0.072% by 2037, and reaching 0.15% by 2047 .

Proposes a six-fold increase in government spending on health research, raising it from the current . Three-Tier Governance Structure: Establishes a clear division of labor: a National Health Research Stewardship Committee for strategic alignment, the Department of Health Research as the nodal implementation agency, and the ICMR providing scientific and technical leadership.

Establishes a clear division of labor: a National Health Research Stewardship Committee for strategic alignment, the Department of Health Research as the nodal implementation agency, and the ICMR providing scientific and technical leadership. Dynamic Research Agenda: Replaces disjointed research models with a National Health Research Agenda to identify priorities based on disease burden, equity, and pandemic preparedness, focusing on targets like tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), cancer, and child malnutrition.

Replaces disjointed research models with a National Health Research Agenda to identify priorities based on disease burden, equity, and pandemic preparedness, focusing on targets like tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), cancer, and child malnutrition. Impact-Based Scientist Evaluation: Shifts the focus of scientific evaluation away from conventional paper counts and journal metrics to the ICMR Impact of Research and Innovation Scale (ICMR-IRIS) , which grades researchers on clinical translation and policy influence.

Shifts the focus of scientific evaluation away from conventional paper counts and journal metrics to the , which grades researchers on clinical translation and policy influence. Institutional Decentralization : Aims to expand research capacity out of a few elite states and institutions by mandating state governments to compile local agendas based on regional disease patterns.

Aims to expand research capacity out of a few elite states and institutions by mandating state governments to compile local agendas based on regional disease patterns. Simplified Ethics and Administration: Proposes streamlining ethical approvals for multi-center clinical trials, establishing a National Research Integrity Office (NRIO) to curb misconduct, and ensuring shared access to public labs and biobanks.

Proposes streamlining ethical approvals for multi-center clinical trials, establishing a to curb misconduct, and ensuring shared access to public labs and biobanks. Core Technological and Data Standards : Places rigorous data governance, cybersecurity, community engagement, and the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medical diagnostics at the absolute center of the research framework.

Significance: