16 firms approved under PLI scheme for domestic pharmaceutical sector

Approvals have been granted to 16 firms to manufacture drugs such as valsartan, losartan, levofloxacin, sulfadiazine, ciprofloxacin, and ofloxacin among others, under the marquee production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the domestic pharmaceutical sector.
The strategy is to push domestic manufacturing of key starting materials (KSMs), drug intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the backdrop of India’s focus to reduce import dependence on such input materials.
The Union cabinet recently cleared the PLI scheme for the domestic pharmaceutical sector for financial years 2020-21 to 2028-29. About ₹15,000 crore worth of incentives will be provided under the scheme, with total incremental sales worth ₹2.94 trillion and incremental exports of ₹1.96 trillion expected during the six years.
“The setting up of these 16 plants will lead to total committed investment of ₹348.70 crore and employment generation of about 3,042 by the companies. The commercial production of these plants is projected to commence from 1 April 2023 onward,” ministry of chemicals and fertilizers said in a statement on Tuesday.
The PLI schemes were first announced last year with an aim to create global manufacturing champions in India by removing sectoral bottlenecks and creating economies of scale to develop complete ecosystems for components. This February, the government invited global firms to take advantage of the ₹1.97 trillion worth of PLI schemes for 13 sectors and expand their manufacturing in India.
“In total, 215 applications were received for the 36 products spread across the 4 target segments,” the statement said.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third largest in the world, by volume and is worth $40 billion. The country contributes 3.5% of total drugs and medicines exported globally. India exports pharmaceuticals to more than 200 countries and territories including highly regulated markets such as the US, the UK, the European Union, Canada, among others.
As of now, low-value generic drugs make up for the chunk of exports from India, while a large proportion of domestic demand for patented drugs is met through imports.

Source : livemint