Union minister For Chemicals and Fertilizers DV Sadananda Gowda said that this is the best time to invest in India’s Pharma & Medical device sector. The Pharma sector is likely to grow into a 65-billion-dollar industry by 2024 and to US$ 120 billion by 2030, and the Medical Devices industry to reach US$ 50 billion by 2025. DV Sadananda Gowda was addressing the Inaugural Session of “CII Life Science Conclave 2020” on 30 September 2020.
He said, “Business friendly reforms carried out by Government have helped India to emerge as one of the best investment destinations among emerging economies. Implementation of policies to promote financial inclusion and to check corruption and easing of compliance of labor laws and regulations has made India the best destination for investment. In 2018-19, India attracted FDI inflows of 73 billion dollar, up 18 % from previous year. Especially mentioning the pharma and medical device sector.” He said that this is the most suitable time for pharma to invest in this sector in India as the pharma sector. It is likely to grow into a 65-billion-dollar industry by 2024 to 120 billion dollars by 2030. The medical device sector can grow at 28% per annum to reach US$ 50 billion by 2025.
Indian pharma and medical device sector have immense potential to make India a five trillion-dollar economy in the next 4 to 5 years. In this backdrop, the Indian Government supports the development of three Bulk Drug and four Medical Device Parks with State of Art Infrastructure and world class Centers of Excellence across the country. The Government will also provide Production Linked Incentives (PLI) to eligible new manufacturing units to ensure a level playing field for domestic manufacturers.
Highlighting the contribution of the pharma industry during this testing time of the covid-19 crisis, he said, “Indian pharma and medical devices industry were able to rise to the occasion. The crisis is being turned into opportunities by supporting development of mega bulk drug and medical device park through mix of right policies. It is expected that these schemes of Union Government for development of bulk drug and medical device park will attract cumulative investment of Rs 78000 crore and can generate about 2.5 lakh employment.”
According to him, it is a matter of great pride for millions of Indians that, from being a net importer, India became the second-largest producer of PPE Kits in the world with daily production capacity surpassing more than 5 lakh per day. Similarly, within a brief period, ventilators’ indigenous production capacity has increased to 3 lakh per annum. We have also achieved self-sufficiency in the production of N-95 masks.
Gowda said that there is a need for the pharma industry to focus on R & D activities to remain as one of the leading global suppliers of medicines. The full potential of growth cannot be fully tapped unless we discover new drugs or repurposing in India. He expressed hope that the Indian pharma sector will be among the first to develop and supply low-cost vaccines for covid-19.
He appreciated the CII Life Sciences efforts conclave for providing the necessary platform for stakeholders across the world to converge and embed their ideas to help usher in a new era of competitiveness of the Indian pharma segment in the post-Covid-19 world.
