Investments Worth Rs 25,813 Cr Made Under Pharma PLI As Of Sep: Govt

Investments worth Rs 25,813 crore have been made and 56,171 new jobs were added as of September this year under the production-linked incentive scheme for pharmaceuticals, the government said on Friday.

In its year-end review, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) also said the 'Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana' achieved its target of opening 10,000 retail outlets in 2023 to provide quality generic medicines at affordable prices to the poor and underprivileged.

The production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for pharmaceuticals is being implemented with an objective of enhancing India's manufacturing capabilities by increasing investment and production in the sector and contributing to product diversification to high value goods in the pharmaceutical sector.

The total outlay of the scheme is Rs 15,000 crore and the scheme duration is from 2020-2021 to 2028-29, an official statement said.

Under the Scheme, 55 applicants have been selected, which includes five applicants of In-vitro Diagnostics (IVD) devices with committed investment of Rs 17,275 crore.

Progress made under the scheme and as of September 2023, "investment worth Rs.25,813 crore has been grounded and employment for 56,171 persons have been generated", it added.

"The sales made by the selected applicants is worth Rs 1,16,121 crore, which includes exports of Rs 75,141 crore. The scheme envisages manufacturing of a specialised category of pharmaceuticals/ IVD devices," the statement said.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), the flagship scheme of the department, as on November 30, 2023, as many as 10,006 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) -- retail outlets -- have been opened across the country, it added.

In 2023, 206 medicines and 13 surgical equipment were added in the product basket of the scheme. Product basket of PMBJP comprises 1,965 medicines and 293 surgical equipment covering all major therapeutic groups such as anti-infectives, anti-diabetics, cardiovasculars, anti-cancers and gastro-intestinal medicines.

On the PLI scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical key starting materials (KSMs), drug intermediates (DIs) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in India, DoP said a total of 249 applications across all four categories of products were received.

Out of 249 applications, 48 applications have been approved with committed investment of Rs 3,938.57 crore and expected employment generation of around 9,618 persons, it added.

As of September 2023, out of 48 approved projects, 27 projects have been commissioned. Investment of Rs 3,063 crore has been grounded and employment for 2,777 persons has been generated, the statement said, adding sales made by the commissioned projects are worth Rs 817.33 crore, including exports of Rs 252.62 crore.

Similarly, for the PLI scheme for medical devices that has a financial outlay of Rs 3,420 crore, a total 64 applications across four categories of products were received and 26 applications have been approved with committed investment of Rs 1,330.44 crore and expected employment generation for around 7,950 persons.

DoP said as of September 2023, out of the 26 approved projects, 16 projects have been commissioned and manufacturing of 39 medical devices has started with investment of Rs 879 crore grounded and employment generated for 4,546 persons.

"The sales made by the commissioned projects are worth Rs 3251.76 crore which includes exports of Rs 1654.09 crore," it said.

In terms of FDI inflows in the pharmaceutical sector comprising both pharmaceuticals and medical devices -- during the current financial year from April 2023 to September 2023, foreign investment stood at Rs.4,456 crore.

Further, the DoP has approved six FDI proposals worth Rs 9,848 crore for brownfield projects during April 1, 2023 to November 30, 2023, it said.