To boost the production of bulk drugs, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has invited fresh applications from the companies under the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

In spite of government initiatives, the dependence on China for bulk drugs remains high. About 72 percent (by value) of India’s overall bulk drug imports in FY24 came from China.

As on September 2024, the total investments in the first four rounds of the bulk drugs-specific PLI scheme stood at INR 4,025 crore across 32 commissioned projects. In total, the government received 249 applications under the scheme, and out of which 48 were approved.

Over the past five years, the government has revamped the Pharmaceutical Technology Upgradation Assistance Scheme (PTUAS) and set up bulk drug parks to reduce the dependence on China to some extent.

Launched in FY21, the PLI scheme for bulk drugs has an outlay of INR 940 crore, and the production tenure from FY23 to FY29. In addition, there’s a separate PLI scheme for pharma manufacturing, which has a financial outlay of INR 15,000 crore, and the production tenure from FY23 to FY28.