Patterns in biomedical research funding in India: An analysis of ICMR small and intermediate grants (2023-2025)

Background and objectives The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) funds small and intermediate grants to help researchers conduct their own biomedical research. The study examined the ICMR-funded small and intermediate grant projects between 2023 to 2025 to evaluate institutional involvement, thematic concentration, and geographic dispersion. Methods The data were extracted manually from six publicly available ICMR funding lists for small and intermediate grants (2023-2025). Institutes were categorised as: medical and non-medical/technical. We used keywords to code project titles so we could find the main research themes. We also looked at the geographic distribution based on where the grantee institute was located. Results Out of 1,766 project grants, 1,220 (69.1%) of the projects that got funding were from government institutions, while 546 (30.9%) were from private, trust, or NGO institutions. Medical institutions received 1,084 (61.4%) of grants, while non-medical/technical institutions received 682 (38.6%) grants with technical institutions increasingly participating throughout the study period. Subjects receiving maximum funding were oncology, infectious diseases (especially tuberculosis), and non-communicable diseases. About 70% of the funded projects were from institutions in north and south India, combined. Interpretation and conclusions The analysis shows that medical and technical institutions are getting almost similar funding from ICMR between 2023 and 2025. Geographic and institutional concentration remains high in north/south India. These results shed light on recent trends in funding distribution and point out areas where research capacity could be improved.