As the sun rose on the morning of February 1, 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Pharma as the sunrise opportunity sector. She placed immense confidence and reinforced the Government’s commitment in the sector to drive the growth, income, and employment opportunities in the country. Aligning to the vision of the environment, sustainability, and governance, the sector will assist in the upscaling of sustainable development, modernizing the country while reducing imports, and driving India on the path of Atmanirbharta.

India@100 envisions herself as being the R&D hub in terms of pharmaceuticals. It aims to adopt and adapt to high-end futuristic technologies. There has been a continuous demand from the Indian pharma industry to incentivize research and innovation in the sector. To steer the innovation in the sector, the government reiterated its confidence in the private sector’s expertise and skills. A blended finance mechanism with a 20% share of the Government, along with management of funds by private fund managers has been proposed to boost Manufacturing, R&D and Innovation in the sector. This will drive the sector to be the originator of futuristic technologies, having a ripple effect in aligning the sector to more sustainable manufacturing with a focus on biopharma as the core. Currently, the Indian pharmaceutical sector is the third-largest in terms of volume and fourteenth in terms of value. A major thrust on R&D will put the sector on the road to being a high-value sector, with innovation in sustainable products and smart manufacturing helping India achieve its goal of reducing its carbon footprint.

This has been authored by Shreya Mishra.