India Must Build Resilient, Globally Integrated Healthcare Supply Chains: Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal at Bharat Health Global Expo 2026

The Bharat Health Global Expo 2026, addressed by Union Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, marks a pivotal moment in India's healthcare and pharmaceutical trajectory. To understand its significance, we must trace the historical arc: post-independence, India's pharma sector evolved from import-dependence to becoming the 'pharmacy of the world' through the 1970 Patent Act amendment (which recognised process patents only), enabling reverse-engineering of generic drugs. The 2005 TRIPS-compliant amendment to the Patents Act reintroduced product patents, forcing a strategic pivot. Yet, as Goyal noted, India lost ground in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and Key Starting Materials (KSMs) to China during 2000-2020 due to cost arbitrage and environmental regulations — a vulnerability starkly exposed during COVID-19 when global supply chains fractured. The Minister's call for 'resilient, globally integrated supply chains' reflects a nuanced policy shift: not autarky, but strategic diversification. This aligns with the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for pharmaceuticals (launched 2020-21) and bulk drug parks in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh under the 'Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks' scheme (2020). The 100 new industrial parks announced under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme further signal infrastructure-led industrial policy. Constitutionally, this engages Article 21 (right to health as part of right to life), Article 38 (directive to secure social order), and Article 246 read with Seventh Schedule (Union List entries 52, 53 on industries; State List entry 6 on public health). The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 remain key regulatory pillars. On R&D, Goyal's emphasis on moving beyond generics to novel molecules, biosimilars, and biotechnology addresses a structural gap: India spends merely ~0.7% of GDP on R&D (vs 2.8% in US, 2.4% in China). The Research and Development Innovation Fund (RDIF) and the proposed National Research Foundation (NRF) under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023 aim to bridge this. Regulatory convergence with developed nations — referenced by Goyal — is critical: CDSCO's alignment with ICH guidelines, WHO prequalification, and mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with US FDA, EMA, PMDA Japan will determine India's credibility as an innovation hub. Medical value travel (MVT), currently at $8 billion, connects to the 'Heal in India' initiative and the National Medical & Wellness Tourism Board. The Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) collaboration with CII/FICCI, backed by the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) and India Brand Equity Fund, targets a larger share of the $100+ billion global medical tourism market. This earns foreign exchange, creates jobs, and showcases India's tertiary care excellence (e.g., cardiac, orthopedic, oncology). The FTA narrative is striking: pre-2014 FTAs covered $10 trillion GDP; the nine recent FTAs (including UAE, Australia, EFTA, UK negotiations) cover 38 developed countries with $60 trillion GDP — a six-fold leap. With 8-10 more FTAs/PTAs targeting 75% global trade access, India is leveraging trade policy as industrial policy. This connects to the 'Act East' and 'Look West' strategies, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) supply chain pillar. Future implications: If executed, India could capture 5-10% of global biotech/innovator drug market by 2035, reduce API import dependence from ~70% to <30%, and emerge as a regulatory reference standard for the Global South. The 'health stack for the globe' vision ties directly to Viksit Bharat 2047 — where healthcare is both a development goal (SDG 3) and an economic engine. The sector's success will test India's ability to harmonise federal-state coordination (health is a State subject), regulatory agility, capital formation, and talent retention — a microcosm of the larger development challenge.