The global spotlight is turning towards India as an emerging hub for scientific innovation. Leading this wave is the India Reimagined Fellowship launched by Blockchain For Impact (BFI), whose founder Sandeep Nailwal told FE that the fellowship – valued at $300,000 (about Rs 2.5 crore) over three years for each selected fellow – is a call to the world’s brightest minds, including scientists, entrepreneurs, clinicians, and innovators, to reimagine the future of health, from India.
Nailwal – who is also a tech entrepreneur and philanthropist – said that the aim is to find scalable solutions in biomedical science and public health. “We are targeting exceptional global talent, including Indian-origin professionals working abroad and foreign researchers who are willing to relocate to India full-time for three years,” he said. “The application route is strictly controlled: it is open only through institutional nominations. Eligible host institutions must be FCRA-approved (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) or exempted, and must commit to providing complete infrastructure and administrative backing to the fellow.”
Highest-ever grant
Nailwal said that traditional barriers have prevented world-class researchers from relocating to India, namely funding gaps, infrastructure hurdles, and professional uncertainty. “But this highest-ever grant in the field of biomedical research of $300,000 over three years for each selected fellow, I believe, is a substantial financial backing, covering relocation costs, salary, lab set-up, staffing, and all cutting-edge research expenses, allowing the fellow to hit the ground running immediately,” he said. “This research is fully funded by BFI, a global philanthropic initiative, and I have myself made a personal commitment of $215 million (about Rs 1,800 crore) to support long-term healthcare and science innovation in India.”
Phased approach
In the initial phase, three fellowships will be awarded, one per host institution. When asked about the low volume of just three fellows, Nailwal emphasised that the focus is on “impact over volume.” BFI plans to run two cohorts per year, with the number of fellowships expected to grow exponentially in future phases. “This phased approach allows BFI to carefully refine processes, strengthen institutional frameworks, and build a sustainable model to ensure high-quality outcomes from each cohort,” he said.
While the fellowship is designed to bring global expertise inwards, there are already other existing programmes supported by BFI that cater to scientists from within India. “The India Reimagined Fellowship is specifically designed to enable global talent to take on leadership roles in India, granting them access to India’s diverse demography and robust datasets,” Nailwal said.
Towards Viksit Bharat
The ultimate impact, Nailwal added, is the acceleration of scientific breakthroughs that serve both national and global health priorities. Vijay Chandru – the co-founder and chairman of Strand Life Sciences – who envisioned this initiative, emphasised that this is a rare opportunity to enable the lateral entry of seasoned, mid-career scientific talent from the Indian diaspora. While India’s public institutions are effective at attracting early career researchers, this fellowship engages seasoned innovators capable of driving the critical transition from “lab to real-world impact.”
Nailwal said that by delivering the scale, stability, and speed needed for world-class scientists to launch transformative research from day one, the fellowship addresses critical gaps in India’s research landscape that no other programme currently bridges. “Fellows gain access to a unique environment; host institutions gain global expertise and networks; and together, they contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat (developed India),” he said. “This initiative can scale exponentially, potentially leading to a $1-billion philanthropic endowment that could amplify these fellowships a thousand-fold, fundamentally elevating India’s innovation quotient.”
