India’s pharma industry vital for world’s vaccination programme

India has also the largest number of FDA approved plants outside the US, nearly 2,050 WHO-GMP approved pharma plants, and a number of European Directorate of Quality Medicines (EDQM) approved plants with state of the art technology. India's pharma and medical devices industry, the 3rd largest producer of pharmaceutical products by volume and 14th largest by value, benefits from the economies of scale derived from the huge domestic and export market, cheap labour, and low-cost manufacturing.

With its exports in FY20 pegged at US$ 18.3 billion and a growth rate at 7.57 per cent, India meets 62 per cent of the world's vaccination requirements, and 40 per cent and 25 per cent of generic drugs in USA and the UK, respectively, underlining the country’s pivotal role in catering to the world's healthcare needs.