The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic which affected all industries has had a reciprocal effect on the Indian pharma industry. Many of the world’s manufacturing bases including China are still grappling with the devastation of healthcare systems and the huge negative impact on their economies. However, when looked at from our perspective, this appears to be a great opportunity to establish India as the manufacturing hub of the world. Many countries are looking to set up their businesses and India is the best bet for them. We request that the government encourages more and more pharma companies to be a part of this great opportunity. The Union Budget should include tax benefits like reduced GST rate on research activities and other incentives so that the overall industry gets a boost and establishes India’s importance in the world. The budget should include special allocations, tax concessions, incentives and grants. The SEIS benefit should also be made applicable to the pharma establishments. Secondly, rural medical services have not been able to keep pace with the rest of India and this segment needs Government attention. We expect medical education, entrepreneurship in the pharma business, and ease of doing business for a new concern to be the focus of the Government when it comes to tax and policies for the pharma industry. Lastly, the fact that India does not feature as an important R&D hub in the world and it is one area where we lag. Supporting innovations in R&D in terms of incentivising and other reforms will be a real help and encourage pharma companies in India to invest more in this field of their business.
