India to spend US$ 1.3 billion to boost pharmaceutical production

India plans to set up a nearly Rs 1 lakh crore (US$ 1.3 billion) fund to provide boost to companies to manufacture pharmaceutical ingredients domestically. This move comes after supply chain was disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic exposed the country’s dependence on China and raised the threat of drug shortages.

The program consists of spending on infrastructure for drug manufacturing centers and financial incentives of up to 20 per cent of incremental sales value over the next eight years, according to a government statement.

Currently, India imports almost 70 per cent of its active pharmaceutical ingredients, the chemicals that make a finished drug work, from China. Hubei province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak has been major source of these ingredients. As the world’s single largest exporter of generic drugs, India is responsible for about 20 per cent of the world’s supply.

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