India must move beyond its success in generics towards greater research, development and innovation while building resilient, globally integrated healthcare supply chains and strengthening its position as a trusted healthcare partner of the world, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said at the Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 in New Delhi on Sunday.
He said India’s pharmaceutical sector has a significant opportunity to showcase its capabilities globally and that the country, known as the “pharmacy of the world”, must aim for a much bigger and better future.
The Minister attended the Expo along with Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada and Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal.
Building Resilient and Diversified Healthcare Supply Chains
Highlighting the importance of resilience in supply chains, Goyal said the world is increasingly looking for resilient supply chains and is not comfortable with excessive geographical dependence on one or two locations or with supply chains that could potentially be weaponised.
He said it was now time to restore resilience in the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Goyal clarified that resilience should not mean an inward-looking approach. India does not need to indigenise everything, he said, and imports would continue to be necessary where required. However, products should be available from multiple geographies and companies so that no one or two countries or companies can hold businesses to ransom and threaten the continuity of the industry, said a press release from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
India Must Adopt a Global Outlook
Goyal said India must recognise that other countries are also seeking resilience and that the pharmaceutical sector would therefore need to adopt a global and outward-looking approach.
He said there may be countries where Indian pharmaceutical companies need to invest for last-mile delivery, local value addition and job creation, including in African countries. He emphasised that the sector would need to adopt a global outlook in the years ahead.
From Generics to Innovation: R&D Must Be the Next Frontier
On research and development and innovation, Goyal said India’s success in generics had been built through the active and sustained efforts of the pharmaceutical industry. However, he said India cannot rest its case with generics if it aims to become a developed country by 2047.
Goyal said India must promote greater R&D, develop and patent its own products and make use of programmes launched to support R&D and innovation. He added that the pharmaceutical sector should be at the forefront of R&D and leverage initiatives such as the Research and Development Innovation Fund (RDIF).
Medical Value Travel: India Can Capture a Larger Global Share
On medical value travel, Goyal said almost USD 8 billion is spent in this area and highlighted that Indian hospitals have become modern and world-class, with the best equipment, while Indian doctors, technicians and nurses are among the best.
He called for medical value travel to be taken up on a mission mode.
Goyal said SEPC had already undertaken initiatives with CII, FICCI and others in this area and called for efforts to capture a greater share of the market and promote the Indian healthcare story globally.
He said that through the EPM and India Brand Equity Fund, the Government would be happy to support initiatives to promote medical care in India for the rest of the world and urged the industry to come forward with proposals quickly.
Healthcare Industry Must Aim for the Skies
Goyal said the last 40 years had been a defining period for the pharmaceutical industry but the sector should not be content with where it stands today. He called upon the industry to “aim for the skies” and work towards a much bigger and better future.
Government Expanding Infrastructure for Pharma and Healthcare
On infrastructure, Goyal said the Government had been working to develop bulk drug parks, with projects coming up in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, including both old and new parks. He said 100 new industrial parks were coming up where dedicated areas could be provided for the pharma and healthcare sector, if required.
Medical Devices: Shift from Assemblies to Indigenous Manufacturing
On medical devices, Goyal said that while there had been efforts in the sector, India still had a long way to go. He called for a shift from assemblies towards domestic and indigenous production of components and the entire medical devices ecosystem, noting that there remained significant scope for growth.
Goyal said MSMEs could support the indigenisation of components and equipment, while larger companies could create scale.
Ayush Needs Greater Scientific Validation for Global Acceptance
On Ayush, Goyal said it represented India’s traditional medicine and traditional wisdom, but India was still exporting raw herbs. He called for greater scientific validation of Ayush products so that they could gain wider acceptance globally, noting that the Government had already been working in this direction.
Bharat Health Expo Can Become a Global Healthcare Platform
Highlighting the importance of collaboration, Goyal said India had planned several similar initiatives in areas of its strength, with the pharmaceutical sector being one of the country’s biggest strengths.
He said it was important to bring the sector together on a single platform rather than having separate conferences for different segments. A unified platform, he noted, could attract participation from 50 countries and around 1,000 people from across the world while enabling stakeholders to get a comprehensive view of developments across the sector and compare and identify the best.
Goyal Calls for Global Ambition, Quality and Collaboration
Goyal said Indian industry was competitive and best in class, with strong talent, and that what was needed now was greater ambition, higher goals and the ability to connect the dots.
He said an organisation such as Bharat Health was attempting to do precisely this by bringing different organisations together, getting everyone on the same page and encouraging collaboration and cooperation.
The Minister said Viksit Bharat 2047 rests on the shoulders of the healthcare sector, which has the responsibility of providing a healthy India, ensuring good health facilities and quality medicines, and delivering both preventive wellness and curative healthcare to 1.4 billion people.
-with inputs from PIB
