Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal articulated India's ambition to evolve from its current position as the 'pharmacy of the world' into a comprehensive global medical and healthcare destination. Speaking at the Pharma Machtech and Labnext Expo 2026 in New Delhi, the Minister emphasized that healthcare now encompasses prevention, wellness, caregiving, diagnostics, laboratory capacities, medical devices, telemedicine, digital health solutions, and R&D for new drugs and equipment.
A significant opportunity highlighted was India's expanded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) network. Prior to 2014, FTAs covered economies with a combined GDP of approximately $10 trillion. In the last four to four-and-a-half years, nine new FTAs and bilateral trade agreements have been finalized, covering economies with a collective GDP of around $60 trillion. Ongoing negotiations could potentially expand this market access to economies worth $75 trillion, providing the healthcare industry with preferential lower-duty market access, services opportunities, and mobility.
The medical, pharmaceutical machinery, and consumables sector was identified as having substantial potential for merchandise exports, import substitution, and services exports. The Minister projected that this ecosystem could create crores of jobs, thousands of business opportunities, and lakhs of new startups, particularly in the medtech field.
To achieve these goals, the government has committed ₹1 lakh crore towards research and development, innovation, and funding. The Minister called for strengthening the startup incubation ecosystem for medtech and medical equipment, alongside improvements in design, copyrights, patent laws, and the overall intellectual property ecosystem. Collaboration with international R&D centres, global innovators, and large pharmaceutical companies was encouraged, including inviting them to set up design centres in India.
Technology partnerships, stronger buyer-seller relationships, and joint ventures were advocated to advance self-reliance. The Minister emphasized that India need not reinvent the wheel but should bring suitable global technologies to India while also taking Indian technologies to global markets through co-designing, co-developing, licensing, and knowledge sharing.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework has been amended to improve affordability and opportunities for the sector. Furthermore, 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is permitted through the automatic route. The Minister stressed the critical need for supply chain resilience through greater indigenization of equipment, learning from the COVID-19 experience which exposed shortages in items like oxygenators and ventilators, and maintaining a strict zero-compromise stance on quality standards.
A key proposal was the creation of shared testing infrastructure and facilities where Indian equipment can be tested, benchmarked against global standards, certified, and demonstrated to international customers. The Government of India expressed support for acquiring the best technical testing equipment for such facilities in government-sponsored or university laboratories.
The integrated vision includes an ecosystem comprising Indian medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, patient care by Indian doctors, nursing, caregiving, technicians, hospital administrators, and management personnel. The Minister also noted that Artificial Intelligence will bring greater efficiency to support healthcare professionals, while human caregiving will remain essential. India's cost advantage in R&D and the potential for collaboration among industry, academia, medical colleges, and IITs were highlighted as significant enablers for expanding innovation, design, clinical trials, and manufacturing within the country.