The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers observed under-utilization of fund allocations in some schemes of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, though no such observations were made for the Department of Fertilizers or Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals. The Department of Pharmaceuticals has implemented several corrective measures to improve fund utilization for production-linked incentive schemes, bulk drug parks, and related initiatives, including strengthened periodic monitoring through Project Management Agencies, claim forecasting and milestone-based releases, improved Treasury Single Account/Public Financial Management System readiness, and budget estimate alignment with implementation pipeline.
The Department has also conducted awareness workshops, outreach programs, and stakeholder consultations to enhance understanding of scheme guidelines, eligibility conditions, documentation requirements, claim procedures, and implementation timelines. For Bulk Drugs and Medical Device Park schemes, support is provided for expediting key regulatory approvals, with progress monitored through regular review meetings, monthly reports, project implementation tracking, expenditure forecasting, fund management, and site visits.
To reduce import dependence, the Department of Pharmaceuticals has three PLI schemes with a total budgetary outlay of ₹25,360 crore that have attracted investments of over ₹51,997 crore and achieved cumulative sales of ₹3.88 lakh crore, including exports of over ₹2.43 lakh crore. These schemes have created production capacity for 218 Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients/Key Starting Materials/Drug Intermediaries and 57 medical devices including CT, MRI, Ultrasound, LINAC, and critical implants. Medical device exports increased from ₹26,915 crore in 2019-20 to ₹42,360 crore in 2024-25, while domestic manufacturing jumped from approximately ₹28,000 crore to ₹41,500 crore during the same period.
In the fertilizers sector, indigenous urea production has increased from 225 Lakh Metric Tonnes in 2014-15 to 293.30 LMT in 2025-26, with a record production of 314.07 LMT achieved during 2023-24. Under the New Investment Policy-2012, six energy-efficient urea units were commissioned—four Public Sector Joint Venture units at Ramagundam, Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni, and two private sector units at Panagarh and Gadepan-III—each with a production capacity of 12.7 LMTPA, increasing the country's total installed urea production capacity to 269.42 LMTPA. The New Urea Policy-2015 improved production efficiency of 25 gas-based urea units, resulting in additional production of 20-25 LMT of urea annually beyond their reassessed capacity.
The Department of Fertilizers implements the Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme for Phosphatic and Potassic fertilizers since 1 April 2010, with several measures to reduce import dependence including guidelines issued on 18 January 2024 prescribing reasonable profit margins of 8% for importers, 10% for manufacturers, and 12% for integrated manufacturers. The number of P&K fertilizer grades covered under the NBS Scheme increased from 22 in 2021 to 28, and freight subsidy on Single Super Phosphate has been provided since Kharif 2022 to promote its use as a phosphatic nutrient source.