Pharma Industry Could Reach $200 Billion By 2030, Says Secretary Arunish Chawla

The official said that the industry needs to aim to reach $200 billion by the end of the decade from the current size of $50 billion and it needs to grow in double digits on a yearly basis.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals Secretary called for the industry to focus on certain sectors which are still import-dependent.

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The domestic pharmaceutical industry has the possibility to expand by 4 to 5 times to reach $200 billion in value terms by increasing manufacturing and growing exports, a government official said on Friday. 

Addressing a CII event in New Delhi, the Department of Pharmaceuticals Secretary, Arunish Chawla, said that the industry needs to aim to reach $200 billion by the end of the decade from the current size of $50 billion and for the same, it needs to grow in double digits on a year-on-year basis. The official also called for a reduction in dependence on imports and enhanced focus on exports, reported PTI.

Chawla added, "The age of smart medicine is dawning upon us. The new therapies that will come to the fore in the next 20 to 30 years would deliver smart therapies virtually for every difficult illness that we know of today. We have to be ready for that age. We have to prepare for that age."

He noted that the government is working to support the industry via multiple policy initiatives, such as production-linked incentives. "At USD 50 billion in 2020, we were a little over 10 per cent of our manufacturing sector. By 2030 we need to be 20 per cent of the manufacturing sector in India," Chawla said.

The official called for the industry to focus on certain sectors which are still import-dependent. "We need to redesign policy framework and do it in such a way that, in ten years, we will become exporters in all these segments," he stated.

Commenting on the export side, Chawla said, "We are already exporting in most sectors, and we hope, the way new technologies are coming up and the way our academic institutions, our laboratories, and our industries are working together in the research and development sector, we hope that we will be an exporter of nearly all most major medical technology products."