India can further consolidate its positioning in global pharmaceutical markets: Commerce secy

INdia put up farther consolidate its positioning in planetary pharmaceutic markets as a “trusted” provider of affordable, quality medicines by overcoming non-trade barriers, expanding regulatory cooperation for mutual recognition, and building a robust life sciences innovation ecosystem, commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal told officials and stakeholders at a brainstorming meeting on Wednesday.“India is the third largest pharmaceutical producer by volume and 14th by value, with medicines reaching over 200 markets, including a strong presence in stringent regulatory destinations,” he said while virtually addressing stakeholders at a chintan shivir on pharmaceutical exports organized by the department of commerce in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (PHARMEXCIL) in Chandigarh. Sectoral brainstorming retreats of stakeholders are regularly organized to enhance India’s global competitiveness.Agrawal said India’s pharma exports have crossed $30.47 billion in 2024-25 with a 9.4% growth and Indian exporters cater to markets such as the US and Europe that have stringent regulatory requirements. The US accounts for about 34% of India’s pharma exports, while Europe accounts for around 19%.He said the country’s domestic pharmaceutical market is poised to more than double to around $130 billion by 2030 from the current level of about $60 billion. India has more than 3,000 pharmaceutical companies, over 10,500 manufacturing units and about 60,000 generic brands across 60 therapeutic areas.This reflects the sector’s scale, depth, and innovation potential and accelerates exports, he said. In order to make the sector globally competitive he asked industry, bureaucrats and stakeholders to focus on three key issues — identify non-tariff barriers and regulatory issues that hold back India’s exports, propose ways to expand regulatory cooperation to have mutual recognition agreements with different countries and focus on the future by leveraging strengths in life-sciences.Deliberations at the chintan shivir focused on sensitising exporters, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to India’s evolving international trade and cooperation framework, and on strengthening industry awareness of policy, regulatory and capacity-building initiatives relevant to pharmaceutical exports, commerce ministry said in a statement.“The Commerce Secretary also underlined the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to position India as a trusted global trade partner and to expand India’s share in global pharmaceutical trade, thereby enabling wider access to quality and affordable healthcare across the world,” it said.Participants were apprised of recent FTAs that India signed with the UK on 24 July 2025 and with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) that came into force on October 1, 2025. “Emphasis was placed on the binding zero-tariff provisions in these agreements and their potential to enhance the competitiveness of Indian generic medicines, as well as the investment and employment opportunities arising from them,” the statement said.Deliberations also highlighted forthcoming India–Switzerland collaboration initiatives in biotechnology and pharmaceutical innovation, including the scope for linking Swiss biotech clusters with Indian innovation hubs, it said. Technical sessions were held on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), skilled manpower development, emerging developments in the Foreign Trade Policy, the evolving GST regime and the implementation of revised Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).