Piyush Goyal urges pharma sector to move beyond generics

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called on India’s pharmaceutical industry to move beyond its strong generics base and focus on research, development and innovation to strengthen the country’s position as a trusted global healthcare partner.
Addressing the Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 in New Delhi on Sunday, Goyal said India, known as the “pharmacy of the world”, must pursue a bigger and more ambitious future, particularly as it seeks to become a developed nation by 2047. He urged the industry to develop and patent indigenous products and leverage initiatives such as the Research and Development Innovation Fund (RDIF),according tp agency reports.
Goyal also stressed the need for resilient and diversified pharmaceutical supply chains, saying resilience should not mean complete self-reliance. India should continue importing where necessary while ensuring that critical supplies are sourced from multiple countries and companies to avoid excessive dependence.He called for a global outlook, including greater investment by Indian pharmaceutical companies in overseas markets for local value addition, job creation and last-mile delivery, particularly in regions such as Africa.
On medical value travel, Goyal said India, with world-class hospitals, equipment and highly skilled doctors, nurses and technicians, could capture a larger share of the nearly USD 8 billion global market. He called for promoting medical value travel on a mission mode and said the government would support efforts through the EPM and India Brand Equity Fund.Goyal also highlighted opportunities in medical devices, urging a shift from assembly-based operations to indigenous manufacturing of components and complete equipment. He said MSMEs could play a key role in component manufacturing while larger companies could help create scale.
On infrastructure, Goyal said bulk drug parks were being developed in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, while 100 new industrial parks could also provide dedicated space for pharmaceutical and healthcare companies.He further called for greater scientific validation of Ayush products to improve their global acceptance, noting that India should move beyond exporting raw herbs towards value-added products.Goyal said the Bharat Health Expo could evolve into a global healthcare platform by bringing pharmaceutical, medical devices, Ayush and other healthcare segments together, potentially attracting participants from 50 countries and around 1,000 global stakeholders.He said the healthcare sector would play a crucial role in realising the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 by ensuring quality medicines, better healthcare infrastructure, preventive wellness and curative services for India’s 1.4 billion people.