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 The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), has officially launched the 9th edition of the National Bio Entrepreneurship Competition- NBEC 2026.
This year, NBEC 2026 has in store of up to Rs. 20 crore in cash prizes and investment opportunities for winning startups, innovators and student teams, making it one of the biggest and most high-stakes platforms, in India’s bio startup domain. The call for applications for NBEC 2026 has been officially launched and will be accepting applications from startups, individual innovators and students till 31st May, 2026.
The focus areas are healthcare, therapeutics, vaccines, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health including AI & ML, maternal & child nutrition, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), agritech & molecular biology, Al & ML in agri, food & nutraceuticals, environmental biotech, clean & renewable energy, water & sanitation, industrial biotechnology, sustainability.
Karnataka minister for electronics, IT/BT and Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge, Dr. Manjula N, secretary, Dept of E, IT and BT and S&T, Rahul Sharanappa Sankanur, director, Dept of E, IT and BT; managing director, KITS, , Dr. Vijay Chandru, co-founder and director, Strand Life Sciences & CrisprBits, and Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, C-CAMP director and CEO were present.
Started in 2017, this India-wide competition has been held annually for startups, entrepreneurs, innovators, and students in the life sciences sector, with over 130 business ideas winning cash prizes and investment opportunities of a cumulative over Rs. 40 crore + across its eight editions.
Minister Kharge said on X the social media platfrom, “Launched the 9th edition of the National Bio Entrepreneurship Competition, India’s largest life sciences innovation platform. Over the past 8 editions, NBEC has seen 21,000+ applications from across the country and supported 130+ winning ideas with over Rs. 40 crore in prizes and investment opportunities. Karnataka stands at the forefront of biotechnology and with focused bio-entrepreneurship programmes we are ensuring cutting-edge innovations translate into solutions that change lives and create real impact.”
Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, director-CEO, C-CAMP said, “Over the past eight years, NBEC has evolved into a powerful platform amplifying early-stage biotech entrepreneurship and innovation, with many ventures now gaining global recognition. With a growing network of partners and increased funding support, this year’s edition aims to attract innovative ideas from across India.”
The highlights of NBEC 2026 are that it has 2 parallel tracks, one for startups, individuals and entrepreneurs in India and an exclusive one for aspiring student teams. Prize money is up to Rs. 10 lakhs for winners of student teams track and Rs. 20 crore including investment opportunity for startup track. Winners will get access to mentorship by key industry leaders. The shortlisted finalists in both start-up and student tracks will participate in a specially designed Entrepreneurship Development Boot Camp to inculcate important Entrepreneurship development skills from top-of-the-line industry and academic mentors.
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