Pharma PLI Schemes Boosts Manufacturing of 38 APIs In India: Union Minister Mandaviya

New Delhi, Aug 7 (KNN) In our efforts through the PLI scheme, India in the past eighteen months has commenced the production of 38 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday.

Speaking at the inaugural Healthcare Summit hosted by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Mandaviya said that the impetus for a self-reliant strategy came in the aftermath of the 2017 border conflict with China in Doklam.

“This in turn prompted India to reassess its dependence on a single source for 95 per cent of APIs used in the formulation industry,” he added.

Mandaviya added that through the PLI scheme, the government has tried to eliminate the need for importing 54 APIs from foreign sources and instead promote domestic production for our formulation industry.

“The government’s commitment to fostering self-reliance is evident in its allocation of a substantial Rs 15,000 crore budget for the pharmaceutical sector under the PLI scheme,” Mandaviya added.

He further underscored the Centre’s core objective of enhancing healthcare accessibility and affordability in rural areas.

An essential stride in this direction has been the significant expansion of medical education, with the number of MBBS seats surging from 52,000 to 1, 07,000 over the past nine years, he said. Additionally, the government has approved the establishment of 54 new medical colleges, reflecting a dedicated effort to address the shortage of medical professionals, added Mandaviya.  (KNN Bureau)