India's new health policy draft aims for stronger implementation

India's draft National Health Research Policy addresses administrative barriers: funding agencies must publish turnaround times, unspent funds can be carried across years, and a single ethics review is allowed for multi-site studies.

The proposed ICMR Impact of Research and Innovation Scale evaluates research beyond publications to include clinical translation, policy influence, indigenous technology, mentorship, and community benefit.

Public-funded research infrastructure would be treated as national assets accessible to researchers beyond host institutions, modeled after C-CAMP in Bengaluru.

The policy strengthens disease registries and biobanks while promoting secure health data sharing across institutions to lower costs and improve research quality.

It aims to broaden where research is conducted rather than concentrating capacity in a few locations.