The Government of Telangana has launched its ambitious Next-Gen Life Sciences Policy 2026–30 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, setting a monumental target to attract $25 billion in new investments and create 500,000 high-quality jobs within the sector by 2030. This strategic roadmap is designed to pivot the state’s already formidable life sciences ecosystem from a scale-driven manufacturing hub to an innovation-powered, value-led global leader. The policy signals a decisive intent to place Telangana among the world’s top five life sciences clusters by the end of the decade, building upon its current status as a vital node in the global pharmaceutical supply chain.

The new policy serves as a powerful testament to Telangana’s broader vision of achieving a $250 billion life sciences economy by 2030, representing a significant acceleration of growth from the current $80 billion valuation. The strategy is built on a foundation of next-generation infrastructure development, which includes anchoring the implementation with the establishment of the Green Pharma City and the creation of ten new Pharma Villages situated along the Outer Ring Road for decentralized and sustainable industrial expansion. Crucially, the plan mandates the expansion of the existing Genome Valley and the further strengthening of the Medical Devices Park at Sultanpur, leveraging the state’s proven capability as a manufacturing powerhouse to transition into a centre for advanced research and development. Telangana currently contributes an estimated 40 percent of India's total pharmaceutical production and accounts for approximately one-third of the world’s vaccine output, providing a robust base for this ambitious leap forward.[1][2]

A central pillar of the Next-Gen Life Sciences Policy is the explicit focus on integrating cutting-edge technology, most notably Artificial Intelligence, into the core of drug discovery, development, and healthcare deployment. State officials have explicitly designed the framework to accelerate the adoption of breakthrough technologies such as AI, digital health, and next-generation therapeutics. This focus moves Telangana beyond its conventional role as a generic manufacturer toward becoming a global originator of advanced therapies and platforms. The policy aims to drive a significant scaling of the pharmaceutical services ecosystem, including Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs), with an objective to increase its value from an estimated $2 billion to around $10 billion.[3][4] This growth will be inherently driven by data science and AI applications, which can streamline clinical trials, enhance R&D efficiency, and optimize manufacturing processes, thereby creating a substantial demand for specialized computational talent.

The implications for the AI industry are profound, transforming the life sciences sector into a major consumer and co-developer of intelligent systems. The state’s commitment is underscored by key educational and research initiatives, including the proposed establishment of the Telangana School of Life Sciences. This institution is envisioned as a university of global excellence with a curriculum designed for future-ready talent, specifically integrating AI and life sciences.[5][6] This integration will be powered by the existing presence of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in Hyderabad, which is the world's first such centre focused on healthcare and life sciences. The new school will ensure that graduates are equipped with competencies in machine learning-driven drug discovery, computational biology, and digital health platforms, directly addressing the critical shortage of talent skilled at the intersection of wet-lab science and computational technology.[4][7] Furthermore, the policy’s recognition of R&D units as full-fledged industrial enterprises, granting them equal access to incentives, is expected to fuel corporate investment in data-intensive research and the establishment of global innovation centres focused on computational drug design and personalized medicine.[5][8]

To catalyse this innovation-driven growth, the policy includes the creation of a dedicated Life Sciences Innovation Fund, which is scalable up to approximately $111 million (INR 1,000 crore). This fund is specifically intended to support deep-tech ventures, including those in biotherapeutics, and early- to growth-stage innovation, with a strategic emphasis on technology platforms where AI plays a foundational role in rapid iteration and development.[8][6] The focus on frontier R&D and advanced manufacturing platforms, such as cell and gene therapies, precision fermentation, and antibody-drug conjugates, necessitates high-throughput screening and data analysis capabilities that are only possible through advanced machine learning and automation. This strategic shift is designed to ensure that the monumental infrastructural projects, such as the Green Pharma City, are not merely manufacturing sites but globally benchmarked clusters for next-generation bio-manufacturing and data-led discovery. Overall, the Telangana Next-Gen Life Sciences Policy 2026–30 sets a clear course for the state to evolve from an indispensable manufacturing partner to a global leader in biomedical innovation, inextricably linking the future of its life sciences sector to the advancement and application of artificial intelligence.[3][5][9]