Eager to cull China reliance, India expands PLI drug scheme

Even as the Madras High court raises concern over India’s over-dependence on Chinese pharma ingredients, the Indian government has expanded and amended the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme aimed at strengthening India's indigenous production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

Close on the heels of several complaints received by the Department of Pharmaceuticals claiming that the scheme was too restrictive, and the fact that APIs like emtricitabine and efavirenz for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment are more than 25% and more than 16% cheaper, respectively, when sourced from China while bulk paracetamol is up to 25% cheaper, the central government decided to remove the criteria of 'minimum investment' and 'barring exports' in the PLI scheme.

The move is specifically geared to further encourage increased production of APIs required in the manufacture of medicines.