Draft National Health Research Policy 2026

Key facts

• The draft National Health Research Policy 2026 was released by the Centre and prepared by the Department of Health Research.
• It proposes a three-tier governance structure comprising a National Health Research Stewardship Committee, the Department of Health Research as the nodal implementing agency, and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) as the scientific and technical lead.
• The policy calls for expanding research infrastructure, strengthening the scientific workforce, and reducing administrative and regulatory bottlenecks.
• It proposes assessing research performance by its contribution to policy, clinical practice, indigenous technologies, health programmes, institutional capacity, equity, and societal impact rather than solely on publications, citations, and patents.
• Long-term national targets are proposed for research investment, medical science PhDs, publications, patents, and approved indigenous health technologies.