In order to encourage the domestic production of essential Key Starting Materials (KSMs), Drug Intermediates (DIs), and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in India, the government announced on Tuesday that it has approved 48 projects under the production-linked incentive (PLI) plan.
In a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Anupriya Patel stated that the program aims to reduce supply disruption risk due to excessive dependence on a single source in order to prevent disruption in supply of critical active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used to make critical drugs for which there are no alternatives.
Prior to production starting under the PLI system, the majority of the products that were notified and approved under the scheme were imported.
As of December 2024, a total of Rs 4,254 crore had been invested under the initiative, out of a six-year investment commitment of Rs 3,938.5 crore.
In order to avoid imports worth Rs 1,144 crore and to create domestic manufacturing capacity for 25 identified KSMs/DIs/APIs, the scheme has resulted in cumulative sales of Rs 1,556 crore from the start of the scheme until December 2024, including exports of Rs 412 crore.
According to the minister, a number of steps were made to raise awareness and promote participation in the program during its introduction and the different rounds of application invitations.
These include holding stakeholder consultation meetings and webinars with industry associations and prospective applicants; publishing press releases, comprehensive guidelines, scheme notifications on official websites, and clarifications in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and their answers;
Frequent social media outreach; press release distribution and hosting on official websites; and the availability of specialized helpdesk support and query resolution tools via the scheme portal.
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