Centre To Provide Incentives For Drug And Medical Device Production

The government will provide incentives worth 137.6 billion rupees ($1.83 billion) under four different schemes to boost production of bulk drugs and medical devices over the next six years, the government said on Saturday.

"Financial incentive will be given to eligible manufacturers of 53 identified critical bulk drugs on their incremental sales over the base year for a period of six years," a statement said.

The country has been trying to become self-sufficient in pharmaceutical supplies.

It has enough stocks of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to last for three to four months, Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilizers, told reporters.

"There is no crisis situation in API supplies," he said.

This month, the country restricted the export of 26 pharmaceutical ingredients and the medicines made from them including paracetamol, a common pain reliever also sold as acetaminophen, as the coronavirus outbreak plays havoc with supply chains.