Govt may come out with new bulk drug policy in a month: Minister Hansraj Ahir

Meanwhile, government sees the country's pharmaceutical industry growth potential to touch $200 billion by 2030 from the present $32 billion.

"We have the potential to grow to $200 billion by 2030 from the present $32 billion. The global pharma industry is estimated at $1,000 billion.

"We need to upscale our pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity to become the largest producer of the drugs in the world," Secretary, Department of Pharmaceutical, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, V K Subburaj said.

The industry is growing at 8-9 per cent per annum at present, and even if we maintain the same growth rate, we can reach $110 billion by 2030, Subburaj said, adding that we need to overcome several challenges to achieve this herculean task.

The domestic medical device market is estimated at $5 billion which has a potential to touch $100 billion, he said.

To overcome the quality problems, we need to have our own APIs manufacturing capacities. The new bulk drug policy will help in increasing the domestic bulk drug production and reduce dependence on Chinese imports, he added.

Also present at the event, Sun Pharma managing director Dilip Shanghvi said the industry needs to focus on encouraging innovation, at par with the international practice.

The government's Make in India initiative will help the growth of the domestic pharma industry in a big way, he said.