Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that the government has taken major steps to reduce India’s dependence on imports of key pharmaceutical ingredients and strengthen domestic manufacturing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Replying in the Rajya Sabha, during the question hours, Mr Nadda said the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for bulk drugs, approved in 2020 with an outlay of 6,940 crore rupees, aims to boost domestic production of Key Starting Materials (KSMs), drug intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). The scheme will remain in force till 2028-29.
He informed that 48 projects covering 33 drugs have been approved in the past four years. The Minister said the projects have attracted 4,814 crore in investments, exceeding the initial commitment of 4,322 crore rupees. He informed the house that the scheme has generated 2,722 crore rupees from cumulative sales and 528 crore rupees in exports, while helping India to avoid imports worth about 2,190 crore rupees.
Mr Nadda said certain bulk drugs that were earlier largely imported, such as Penicillin and Clavulanic Acid, are now being manufactured domestically, and India has also started exporting them.
The minister also highlighted the PLI scheme for pharmaceuticals, approved by the Cabinet in February 2021 with an outlay of 15,000 crore rupees. He said the initiative aims to promote high-value medicines and strengthen India’s role in global pharmaceutical value chains. The Minister said the scheme covers biopharmaceuticals, complex generic drugs, orphan drugs and patented medicines.
According to Mr Nadda, 55 companies, including 22 from the MSME sector, have been selected under the scheme. He said the actual cost of the project is now 41,920 crore rupees in investments, far exceeding the initial commitment of 17,275 crore rupees. The Minister said the initiative has generated cumulative sales of 3,33,836 crore rupees and exports worth 2,14,780 crore rupees.
He added that over 190 APIs and drug intermediates are now being manufactured domestically for the first time, while the initiatives have created employment for over 1.12 lakh people.
Mr Nadda said the measures introduced since the COVID-19 period in 2020 aim to expand India’s pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity, reduce dependence on imported bulk drugs and encourage large-scale investments. He expressed confidence that by 2029, India will move significantly closer to becoming self-reliant in APIs, drug intermediates and key starting materials.
