A government-backed incentive plan has reduced dependency on pharma imports by building local capacity for critical raw materials.
India has saved ₹1,362 crore in pharmaceutical raw material imports by March 2025 under its Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Bulk Drugs. The scheme, which was launched to reduce India’s dependence on overseas suppliers for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), has helped establish domestic capacity for 25 essential products.
According to The Economic Times, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Anupriya Patel, informed Parliament that the initiative has already seen investments of ₹4,570 crore, surpassing the initial commitment of ₹3,938.5 crore over six years. These investments have led to cumulative sales worth ₹1,817 crore since the scheme’s inception, including exports valued at ₹455 crore.
The PLI scheme, with a total budget of ₹6,940 crore, is focused on reducing supply chain risks by enabling Indian manufacturers to produce key starting materials (KSMs), drug intermediates (DIs), and APIs that were previously mostly imported. Before the scheme’s implementation, most of these raw materials were sourced from abroad, raising concerns about potential disruptions in essential drug supplies.
In addition to this, the government is also implementing a broader PLI Scheme for Pharmaceuticals with a budgetary outlay of ₹15,000 crore. This aims to boost high-value and innovation-driven pharmaceutical manufacturing.
To complement these initiatives, three bulk drug parks have been approved in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh under another scheme with a budget of ₹3,000 crore. These parks are currently under various stages of development and are expected to further support India’s shift toward self-reliance in pharma manufacturing.
With these moves, India is setting the stage to strengthen its pharmaceutical supply chain and reduce its vulnerability to global disruptions.
