Indian pharma sector will contribute more to domestic, global demand: Mansukh Mandaviya

India's pharmaceutical sector will be catering more to the domestic and global demand in the coming years, said Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday, while speaking at a function in New Delhi.

New Delhi: Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said that India's pharmaceutical sector will be contributing more in the coming years for the domestic needs as well as catering to global demands.

"India's pharmaceutical industry is robust, resilient and responsive. It is due to this that we could not only meet our demand during the pandemic, but were also in a position to supply medicines to 150 countries," Mandaviya said while inaugurating the 8th International Conference on Pharma and Medical Device Sector in New Delhi.

Reiterating the Prime Minister's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and the ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbekam, Mandaviya said, "India played a phenomenal role in meeting the requirements of not just its domestic requirements but needs of many other countries under unprecedented circumstances."

The health minister also unveiled the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023 and launched the Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices. He also launched a scheme titled 'Assistance for Medical Devices clusters for Common Facilities (AMD-CF).' The scheme aims to establish and strengthen common infrastructure facilities in the medical devices clusters and fortify testing facilities.

The Union minister said that pharmaceutical sector is an emerging manufacturing hub that has been making phenomenal progress with the implementation of production linked incentive schemes and investment for medical drug parks.

"Our competitive advantage over other nations is pricing and quality. If we want to continue being pharmacy of the world, there can be no laxity with the quality of our pharmaceutical products. Our products should also be affordable and competitive in the global market," Mandaviya said.

Highlighting the role of government in supporting the medical device industry, Mandaviya said, "Various initiatives in the form of production linked scheme for pharmaceuticals and medical devices are being served to catalyze growth and development in this sector. Besides, efforts are on to enable the industry to evolve in value chain. From being manufacturers of generics to high value patented drugs. New technologies like cell and gene therapy, precision medicine amongst others are in application." He reiterated that the potential must be channelized and supported with substantial resources.