THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2025
Centre invites drugmakers to apply for PLI scheme aimed at boosting key medicines production
Published on May 25, 2025
By IANS
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- NEW DELHI — The Department of Pharmaceuticals has invited applications from drug manufacturers under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to set up new manufacturing units for 11 key pharmaceutical products.
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- This move aims to strengthen India’s domestic drug production capabilities.
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- The products include important antibiotics and painkillers such as Neomycin, Gentamycin, Erythromycin, Streptomycin, Tetracycline, Ciprofloxacin, and Diclofenac Sodium.
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- These medicines are either unsubscribed or only partially subscribed under the earlier phases of the scheme. Manufacturers can submit their applications until June 14.
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- The PLI scheme comes with certain conditions. Incentives will be provided based on available capacity, a defined ceiling for each product, and the production timeline.
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- For chemical synthesis products, the incentive period will last until the financial year 2027-28, while for fermentation-based products, it will extend up to 2028-29.
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- However, companies that were previously approved and later withdrew or had their approvals cancelled are not eligible to reapply.
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- The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) has encouraged its members to make the most of this opportunity.
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- Pharmexcil Director General Raja Bhanu said the scheme offers a significant chance for companies to boost their manufacturing capacity in essential drug ingredients.
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- This fresh call for applications is part of the government’s ongoing push to promote domestic production of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs), Drug Intermediates (DIs), and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs).
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- The PLI scheme for these categories was first introduced in 2020 and later revised to better suit the industry's needs. It covers a total of 41 products and has a financial outlay of INR 6,940 crore.
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- The initiative is part of a broader effort by the government, which launched PLI schemes for 14 major sectors four years ago.
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- These include bulk drugs, medical devices, electronics, food processing and automobiles.
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- According to official data, till November 2024, about 764 applications had been approved under these schemes, leading to an investment of INR 1.61 lakh crore (around $18.7 billion).
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- The government has disbursed INR 14,020 crore in incentives so far under 10 sectors.
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