India’s High-Containment Labs: NIV Pune BSL-4, DRDO Gwalior BSL-4, New Gujarat Facility

Union Home Minister Amit Shah lays the foundation stone for India’s first fully state-funded and state-controlled BSL-4 containment facility in Sector-28, Gandhinagar. The Gujarat BSL-4 complex is developed under the Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission and is designated as a national facility through an MoU signed by the Department of Biotechnology.

Gujarat State-Funded BSL-4 Containment Facility and India’s Biosafety Lab Network:

Dimension	Key Details
Bio-Safety Level 4	Provides for the highest level of biological containment to safely handle highly infectious pathogens, many lacking effective vaccines or treatments, under stringent international safety standards.
Funding and control	India’s first fully state-funded and state-controlled BSL-4 facility.
Status among civilian BSL-4 labs	Provides for the second civilian BSL-4 research lab in India.
Implementing mission	Governed by development under the Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission.
Cost and area	11,000 sq metres and costing ₹362 crore.
Operating institution	Operates under the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre, which houses a BSL-2+ laboratory and played a key role during the Covid-19 pandemic by sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
Planning timeline	Planning for the BSL-4 lab begins in mid-2022.
Complex modules	BSL-4, BSL-3, BSL-2, ABSL-4, and ABSL-3 modules with advanced utilities and support systems.
Safety guidelines referenced	Regulated in line with international biosafety guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Department of Biotechnology, and Indian Council of Medical Research.
Research and response functions	Authorises advanced research into diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics, and provides for rapid outbreak investigation and response for deadly human diseases and zoonotic infections.
ABSL component and animal research	Provides for animal disease research and vaccine production using antibodies derived from animals; earlier such work required sending samples to ICAR–National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases.
National facility designation	Governed by an MoU signed by the Department of Biotechnology designating the lab as a national facility with guidance from expert institutions across India.
Functional civilian BSL-4 lab in India	Comprises one functional civilian BSL-4 laboratory at the National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra.
Defence-sector BSL-4 facility	Provides for a BSL-4 laboratory established by the Defence Research and Development Organisation in late 2024 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, under the Defence Ministry.
High-security animal disease labs	ICAR–NIHSAD, Bhopal (currently rated ABSL-3+, with plans announced in June 2025 to upgrade to ABSL-4) and ICAR–ICFMD, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (operates with an ABSL-3Ag rating).
Global count of BSL-4 labs	About 69 BSL-4 laboratories globally that are operational or under development.
VRDL scheme biosafety labs	Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, through the Department of Health Research, authorises 165 approved labs under VRDL: 154 BSL-2 and 11 BSL-3.
ICMR-led biosafety labs	Indian Council of Medical Research establishes 21 biosafety laboratories across its institutes: 1 BSL-4, 8 BSL-3, and 12 BSL-2.
DST-supported high-containment labs	The Department of Science and Technology, via the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, funds five BSL/ABSL-3 laboratories under the IRHPA programme to strengthen research in high-priority areas.
DBT biosafety labs	Department of Biotechnology sets up 26 biosafety laboratories across DBT institutes.
ICAR biosafety labs	Indian Council of Agricultural Research establishes 9 biosafety laboratories.
CSIR biosafety labs	Council of Scientific and Industrial Research creates 11 biosafety laboratories across its network.