The
drug & pharmaceutical industry in India meets around 70% of the
country's demand for bulk drugs, drug intermediates, pharmaceutical
formulations, chemicals, tablets, capsules, orals and injectibles. There
are about 250 large Pharmaceuticals manufacturers and suppliers and
about 8000 Small Scale Pharmaceutical & Drug Units which form the
core of the pharmaceutical industry in India (including 5 Central Public
Sector Units). These bulk drugs and pharmaceuticals manufacturers
produce the complete range of pharmaceutical formulations i.e. medicines
ready for consumption by patients and about 350 bulk drugs i.e.
chemicals having therapeutic value and used for production of
pharmaceutical formulations. Owing to a significant increase in
Pharmaceuticals exports, India's USD 3.1 billion pharmaceutical industry
is growing at the rate of 14 percent per year. It is one of the largest
and most advanced among the developing countries. Even the number of
pharmaceuticals exporters, manufacturers and suppliers in increasing
tremendously. The
production value of bulk drugs during the year 1997-98 was 2623.00 and
that of pharmaceutical formulations was Rs.12068 crores. The production
of pharmaceuticals in India increased by 13.68% during the year 1997-98
against the previous year. The exports of Pharmaceuticals during the
year 1998-97 was Rs 49780 million. From Rs.46 crores worth of
Pharmaceuticals, Drugs and Fine Chemicals exports in 1980-81,
pharmaceutical exports and supplies has risen to approximately Rs. 6152
crores (Prov.1998-99), a rise of 11.91% against the last year exports.
Amongst the total exports of India, the percentage share of Drugs,
Pharmaceuticals and Fine Chemicals during April-October (2000-2001) was
4.1%, an increase of 7%.
Following the
de-licensing of the pharmaceutical industry, industrial licensing for
most of the drugs and pharmaceutical products has been done away with,
manufacturers are free to produce any drug duly approved by the Drug
Control Authority. Technologically strong and totally self reliant, the
pharmaceutical industry in India has low costs of production, low
R&D costs, innovative scientific manpower, strength of national
laboratories and an increasing balance of trade. |
