New Delhi : Union minister, Mansukh Mandaviya on 2nd March, 2023 inaugurated 40 new facilities across the country to manufacture bulk drugs and medical devices to enhance self-reliance and reduce dependence on imports for such critical materials and equipment.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony , Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya said the country has taken a big step towards self-reliance, with the commissioning of 27 new bulk drug facilities and 13 medical device manufacturing plants.

The facilities owned by various companies were commissioned under the PLI Scheme for bulk drugs and medical devices, respectively.

Mandaviya said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the dangers of the supply chain getting affected, the risks of being highly dependent on imports of critical resources like bulk drugs and medical devices and its potential effects on India's pharma and MedTech sector led to a lot of brainstorming within the central government.

Mandaviya said “The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme from the sector is a result of the wide-ranging discussions, any disruption in the supply of critical APIs could have impacted the production of 1,000 formulations in the country.

The PLI- scheme identified 48 critical bulk drugs for manufacturing locally. The success of this inaugural scheme led the government to launch the Rs 15,000 crore PLI-II scheme, which envisaged to increase our cost competitiveness for medicines and medical products in the international market, Around 12,000 drug firms in the country depend on bulk drugs for their finished products. It is noteworthy that India has not only reduced its dependence on medicines, API and medical devices, the country is also emerging as a major exporter of these products, thanks to the success of the PLI scheme," Mandaviya added. He noted that India never lacked brain power or manpower. It just lacked willpower, and that requirement has now been fulfilled by the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mandaviya also announced that a plant to produce Penicillin G would be inaugurated in June this year in the Modi government's third term. The facility would pave the way for the resumption of the manufacturing of the critical medication in the country, he stated.

The PLI scheme envisages manufacturing of 41 bulk drugs with a total outlay of Rs 6,940 crore from 2020-21 to 2029-30.

Already, 26 applicants for manufacturing of medical devices have been approved for 138 products under the PLI scheme, with a total financial outlay of Rs 3,420 crore for 2020-21 to 2027-28. Department of Pharmaceuticals Secretary Arunish Chawla said “the size of the pharmaceutical industry in India stood at Rs 2.4 lakh crore in 2013-14, and as per the annual survey of industries for 2021-22, it has already crossed the Rs 6 lakh crore mark.”

The PLI scheme is an integral part of the strategy to incentivise manufacturing and make India a key player in the global supply chains, he added. Chawla stated that last year, for the first time, the country's exports of bulk drugs matched its imports into the country. “With plants we have inaugurated , 22 bulk drugs will now be manufactured in India.” said Chawla