NEW DELHI: The Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India jointly with FICCI & Invest India is organizing the 6th edition of annual program on Pharmaceuticals & Medical Device sector – ‘India Pharma & India Medical Device 2021’ scheduled on 25-26 February & 1-2 March 2021.
The four-day INDIA PHARMA 2021 & INDIA MEDICAL DEVICE 2021 is an annual flagship event of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The theme for this year India Pharma is ‘Indian Pharma Industry: “Future is Now” and for India Medical Device is “India MedTech Future: Innovate & Make in India through Global Alliance”. The Conference is being organized via virtual platform.
Speaking at the curtain raiser event, D V Sadananda Gowda, Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India congratulated the Pharma, Medical Device and Healthcare industry partners for their outstanding work during the pandemic. He further added that owing to current pandemic we will be organising this edition virtually.
Gowda said, “Healthcare continues to be an integral part of the Government’s priorities with emphasis on medicines at affordable rates, increasing the accessibility to diagnosis and treatment, boost local manufacturing of medical equipment and encouraging innovation to further reduce the cost of healthcare. The government through its various policies and schemes is encouraging the manufacturing of affordable medical devices and pharmaceutical under its ‘Make in India’ initiative. The India Pharma 2021 & India Medical Device 2021 will lay the groundwork for the next wave of development.”
He added saying that India is a leading exporter of affordable generics and a major hub for medical devices and diagnostics. India has been serving more than 200+ countries and territories with its Pharma products and will continue to discharge its responsibilities. We intend to continue formulating plans that are based on sound science, technology, business sense, and ethics. We continue to strive to increase the ease of doing business in India for which several measures have already been announced and continue to support domestic manufacturing through measures such as the Rs 400 crore impetus given for the creation of 4 world-class medical device parks, or the Rs 3000 crore allocated for the creation of 3 major bulk drug parks.
We are talking about two very high potential sectors of India in this event. The total market size of the Indian Pharma Industry is expected to reach the US $ 130 billion by 2030. The medical devices industry in India has the potential to reach $ 50 billion by 2025,” the minister added.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has given its approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in Pharmaceuticals drugs for Enhancing India’s Manufacturing Capabilities and Enhancing Exports – Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical key starting materials (KSMs), Drug Intermediates (DIs), and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) had come out with production linked incentive (PLI) aiming to address the over-dependency on API imports from China which has been brutally exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the scheme, which runs for 6 years starting with the base year of FY 2019-20, financial incentives will be provided based on the sales of pharma manufacturers for 41 products covering all of India’s required 53 APIs. The total incentive earmarked for the scheme is Rs 6,940 crore. The introduction of the PLI Scheme for domestic manufacturing of medical devices with an outlay of Rs. 3,420 crore has also made major huge strides in the sector & is expected to continue to support further. Such interventions & incentives have played an instrumental role in realizing PM’s clarion vision of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”
Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Govt of India said that under the leadership of Modi, the industry has been given a platform to work closely with the government and together chart out a path of progress for the industry and the country. The CEO’s Forum with the Minister is indicative of the positive approach which the Government has taken to work closely with the industry.
He said that India is at the forefront of the global fight against COVID-19 and is being applauded globally not only for its fight against the pandemic but also for the remarkable efforts made by Bharat Biotech on developing an indigenous vaccine and Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer in partnership with AstraZeneca to develop and manufacturer vaccines for India and the world that are completely safe & efficient. Currently, the development of 7 more vaccines is in pipeline. India has launched the world’s largest Covid – 19 vaccination program and is at the center of the global effort to provide vaccines to many developing & developed countries both as grants and on a commercial basis.
Owing to the paramount importance of the pharmaceuticals & medical devices sector, the India Pharma & Medical Devices 2021 is a timely affair and will allow us to deliberate upon the opportunities and key challenges in the areas of the sectors. Salient components of the event include a showcase of investment opportunities in India, panel discussions with industry leaders, International Drug Regulator Session, India Pharma & Medical Device Awards, and a discussion of sectoral startups.
Mandaviya said he is confident that this conference will help us unlock potential, achieve the required levels of penetration in the sectors, and catalyze innovation. I am sure that this edition of the event will encourage both the domestic companies and the global players to Make in India for the world. I look forward to meeting you all during the event.
S Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals mentioned that inspire of various challenges during the pandemic year, pharma & medical device sector has shown positive growth. To further provide business linkages & remove bottlenecks in the growth of the sector this edition of event will be organized virtually and participants from across the globe will participate, she added.
She said The Department has been working continuously to ensure a stable long-term policy environment and reduce the compliance burden on the Industry. The efforts are supported with the help of other Ministries, such as the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) which recently released an amendment letter, clubbing APIs and intermediates as a single category instead of individual products – a change warmly welcomed by the industry. The Department is also working on formulating other dedicated policies to give an impetus to investments in both Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices sector in India, for both manufacturing and R&D.
While talking to media, Secretary said the Government has also formulated several mechanisms to support the investments into the sector, including the setting up of the “Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) and Project Development Cells (PDCs) across the Ministries/Departments of Government of India for attracting investments into the country. The ‘Project Development Cells’ (PDC) expedite investments through focussed coordination between the Central Government and State Governments, supporting the pipeline of investible projects in India. A PDC has also been created in the DoP, supporting faster issue resolution and extensive outreach activities with the collaboration of Invest India. We have also set up a dedicated Pharma Bureau which acts as a single point interface of the Department with Industry. It facilitates investments in partnership with Invest India and also acts as a think tank for policy research.
