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Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called on the Indian pharmaceutical industry to build resilient supply chains, expand its global footprint and strengthen research and innovation, while ensuring that imports of critical inputs such as APIs do not create monopolistic dependencies.
Addressing the inaugural Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 in New Delhi on September 6, Goyal said the healthcare industry would have a key role in building India as a global “Health Stack” and supporting the country’s Viksit Bharat 2047 objective.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of Bharat Health Global Expo 2026, organised by the Pharmaceuticals Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), Goyal said supply-chain resilience had become a pressing requirement, beginning with active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). However, he cautioned that efforts to secure supplies should not result in dependence on a single source or create monopolistic import arrangements.
The Minister also urged Indian pharmaceutical companies to invest outside India to establish local access to international markets. He said companies would need to combine talent, technology and artificial intelligence to remain competitive as major economies and markets including the United States, Canada, South Korea, Singapore and the European Union compete to attract investments.
“Resilient supply chain is the need of the day and it starts with API, but any import has to be not monopolistic. Pharma has to invest outside India for local access. We have to adopt and integrate talent, technology and AI,” Goyal said.
He further called upon industry to make greater use of India’s free trade agreements (FTAs) and ensure that the country secures commercially beneficial terms in its trade engagements. With India having entered into nine FTAs with developed countries, he said the pharmaceutical sector should make effective use of these agreements to expand exports and access new markets.
Goyal said the global pharmaceutical credentials established by Indian products, including COVID-19 vaccines, generics and biosimilars, provide a foundation for further expansion. He stressed that the industry now needs to focus on quality, service and the ability to compete internationally.
The Minister also highlighted the need to strengthen research and development. While acknowledging the performance of Indian generics, he said greater investment in R&D would be necessary to move towards innovation-led growth. He encouraged the industry to make use of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, particularly for biotechnology, and to position India as a location for research and patent development.
He also called for greater alignment between Indian regulatory systems and global regulatory pathways to facilitate market access and reduce regulatory barriers for Indian healthcare products. Easier and more convergent regulatory processes, he said, would support the international expansion of Indian pharmaceutical and healthcare companies.
Medical value travel was another area highlighted at the event. Goyal noted that the sector is currently valued at around $8 billion and called for proposals to support its further development to be taken forward quickly. He said India could strengthen its position in healthcare services by integrating medical treatment, hospital services and international patient access.
On pharmaceutical manufacturing, Goyal called for additional bulk drug parks with infrastructure and facilities designed around the requirements of the industry. The objective, he said, should be to strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities and improve supply-chain resilience for critical pharmaceutical inputs.
The Minister also highlighted opportunities in Ayurveda and other AYUSH products. He said these products need scientific validation and that the sector should move beyond supplying raw materials towards developing proven, scientifically supported products that can gain wider international acceptance.
Medical devices, he said, represent another area where India needs to strengthen domestic manufacturing. With a significant share of medical devices currently imported, he called for greater efforts to manufacture devices in India and achieve economies of scale. Building domestic capabilities in medical devices would also contribute to greater resilience across the healthcare supply chain.
Goyal linked these priorities to the changing global trade environment, noting that ongoing wars and the “weaponising of goods” by some countries have increased the importance of resilient and diversified supply chains. Against this backdrop, he said India must strengthen its manufacturing and export capabilities across the healthcare value chain.
He said the Indian healthcare industry had the opportunity to contribute to the development of a global “Health Stack” while playing a central role in achieving the Viksit Bharat 2047 objective. “Viksit Bharat 2047 is on the shoulders of the healthcare industry,” Goyal said.
The Minister also acknowledged the efforts of Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and Mohit Yadav in bringing together the various export promotion councils for the event. Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 brought together around 50 countries and 1,000 delegates, creating an opportunity for the Indian healthcare industry to engage with international buyers and explore new business and export opportunities.
Goyal compared the scale of the event with international trade exhibitions and said its success would ultimately be determined by the quality of products and services and the industry's ability to compete globally.
Experts noted that other large-scale national events, including Bharat Tex, Bharat Buildcon and Bharat Mobility, had also seen strong participation, with additional tented facilities being used alongside Yashobhoomi due to demand.
Industry experts further said the venue's association with major international events such as BRICS, the AI Summit and G20-related programmes provided an opportunity to showcase India's capabilities to a global audience. An international pavilion is also being planned as part of efforts to increase global participation.
Pharmexcil Vice Chairman Bhavin Mehta provided an overview of the council and its activities, while senior government and industry representatives outlined opportunities for expanding India's healthcare exports.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said Latin America and the Caribbean (LATAM) should be a focus area for India's future export growth. He urged the industry to use FTAs more effectively by seeking easier regulatory pathways and asked whether India could promote its healthcare capabilities as a “Brand India” proposition in international markets.
Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada, who was the Guest of Honour at the event, said India has an integrated healthcare value chain covering machines, services, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and nutrition. He said this broad capability was drawing international attention and could provide a foundation for greater global engagement.
Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) India representative Pankaj Chadha said the council, representing a major export sector that includes medical devices and hospital equipment, would support efforts to expand India's healthcare-related exports.
Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) representative Upasana Arora highlighted the Sanjeevani Scheme launched for hospitals and said international delegates would visit participating hospitals as part of efforts to promote India's healthcare services and medical value travel.
The inaugural ceremony also served as a platform for Indian pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to meet international buyers and discuss export opportunities across pharmaceuticals, medical devices, healthcare services and allied segments. The event's broader objective is to bring the country's healthcare value chain together with global buyers and investors and strengthen India's position across international healthcare markets.
According to industry leaders, “The discussions at Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 underlined a shift from a narrow focus on pharmaceutical exports towards a broader healthcare export strategy covering APIs, finished formulations, biosimilars, biotechnology, medical devices, healthcare services, AYUSH products, research and technology. The government's emphasis was on combining domestic manufacturing resilience with international investment, innovation and market access to build a more integrated and globally competitive Indian healthcare sector.”
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