Union Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal outlined India's strategic vision for the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors at the Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 in New Delhi. The Minister emphasized the need to build resilient, globally integrated healthcare supply chains while moving beyond India's success in generics towards greater research, development, and innovation.
Goyal clarified that supply chain resilience should not mean an inward-looking approach, noting that imports would continue where necessary, but products should be available from multiple geographies to prevent dependency on one or two countries. He advocated for an outward-looking approach including investments in overseas markets for local value addition and last-mile delivery, particularly in African countries. The Minister revealed that bulk drug parks are being developed in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh, with 100 new industrial parks coming up that can provide dedicated areas for pharma and healthcare sectors.
On research and development, Goyal called for the pharmaceutical sector to lead in developing new molecules, biosimilars, and biotechnology, leveraging initiatives such as the Research and Development Innovation Fund (RDIF). He stressed the need for regulatory convergence with developed countries to make R&D and innovation attractive in India, including open approaches to clinical trials and patenting.
The Minister highlighted medical value travel as a significant opportunity, noting that almost USD 8 billion is spent in this area. He stated that the government would support initiatives through the Export Promotion Mission and India Brand Equity Fund to promote medical care in India for the rest of the world.
Regarding medical devices, Goyal acknowledged that India has a long way to go and called for a shift from assemblies towards domestic production of components and the entire medical devices ecosystem. He noted that greater domestic market share would support exports through economies of scale, with MSMEs supporting indigenization and larger companies creating scale.
On international market access, Goyal revealed that FTAs already provide access to markets with a combined GDP of USD 60 trillion across 38 developed countries—six times more than what was accessible until 2014. India is negotiating another 8-10 multilateral or bilateral FTAs or PTAs that would provide access to almost 75% of global trade.
The Minister called for collaboration across the healthcare value chain, noting that the unified platform of Bharat Health Global Expo could attract participation from 50 countries and around 1,000 international participants. He emphasized that competition would be determined by quality, timely delivery, and customer service, and urged the industry to work towards making India the "health stack for the globe" as part of the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.