India's Healthcare Sector Strategy: Global Integration and Resilience
Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Piyush Goyal outlined India's comprehensive strategy for the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors at the Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 in New Delhi. The minister emphasized that India must build resilient, globally integrated healthcare supply chains and strengthen its position as a trusted healthcare partner to the world, moving beyond its success in generics towards greater research, development, and innovation.
Supply Chain Resilience and Global Integration
Goyal highlighted that the world is increasingly seeking resilient supply chains uncomfortable with excessive geographical dependence. India had previously lost ground in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and Key Starting Materials (KSMs) and must now restore resilience without adopting an inward-looking approach. The minister clarified that resilience doesn't mean indigenizing everything—imports would continue where necessary—but ensuring products are available from multiple geographies and companies to prevent supply chain weaponization. He advocated for an outward-looking approach including investments in overseas markets for local value addition and last-mile delivery, particularly in African countries.
Research and Development Focus
The minister stressed that India cannot rest on its generics success if it aims to become a developed country by 2047. The pharmaceutical sector must lead in R&D, developing and patenting its own products through initiatives like the Research and Development Innovation Fund (RDIF). Indian companies, engineers, and talent should focus on new molecules, biosimilars, and biotechnology as the next frontier. Goyal called for regulatory convergence with developed countries, examining global regulations to make R&D, clinical trials, and patenting more attractive in India.
Infrastructure Development and Support
The government is developing bulk drug parks in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh, with 100 new industrial parks coming up that can provide dedicated areas for pharma and healthcare sectors. The government offered to create sector-specific plug-and-play industrial facilities and invited industry to be more demanding about location preferences. For medical devices, Goyal called for a shift from assemblies to domestic production of components and the entire ecosystem, noting significant growth scope.
Medical Value Travel and Export Promotion
Goyal highlighted that almost USD 8 billion is spent in medical value travel and called for taking this on mission mode. Indian hospitals have become modern and world-class with the best equipment, doctors, technicians, and nurses. Through Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) with CII, FICCI, and others, and supported by EPM and India Brand Equity Fund, the government will promote Indian healthcare globally and capture greater market share.
Trade Access and Market Opportunities
The minister revealed significant trade access developments: India's FTAs now provide access to markets with combined GDP of USD 60 trillion through 38 developed countries—six times more than the USD 10 trillion access available until 2014. India is negotiating another 8-10 multilateral or bilateral FTAs or PTAs that would provide access to almost 75% of global trade. Almost two-thirds of the global market is already open for preferential market access for India.
Traditional Medicine and Collaboration
On Ayush, Goyal noted that India still exports raw herbs and called for greater scientific validation to gain wider global acceptance. He emphasized the importance of bringing the entire healthcare value chain together on a single platform rather than separate conferences, which could attract participation from 50 countries and around 1,000 international participants.
Economic Impact and Vision
Collectively, these efforts could create millions of jobs, promote investments worth billions of dollars, and make India more resilient against future crises. Goyal called upon the industry to aim big, adopt a modern outlook, go global, prioritize quality, build resilience and scale, and leverage Indian capabilities and talent. He stated that Viksit Bharat 2047 rests on the healthcare sector's shoulders to provide healthy facilities and quality medicines to 1.4 billion people, making India the "health stack for the globe."