Piyush Goyal meets pharma industry leaders to discuss R&D, competitiveness boost

NEW DELHI: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has discussed strategies to boost competitiveness and strengthen research and development activities with the business representatives of the pharmaceutical industry.

“Had an inspiring interaction with leaders of India’s pharmaceutical industry. Discussed strategies to boost competitiveness & advance the R&D ecosystem. Driven by the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ & ‘Make In India for the World’ vision, our Government remains committed to further enhancing India’s position in the global healthcare value chain”, Goyal wrote in a X post.

Had an inspiring interaction with leaders of India’s pharmaceutical industry. Discussed strategies to boost competitiveness & advance the R&D ecosystem.

Driven by the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ & ‘Make In India for the World’ vision, our Government remains committed to further… pic.twitter.com/dTlJIXLv5p

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) August 14, 2025

The meeting is taking place at a time when concerns over US reciprocal tariffs are raising the prospect of significant impacts on many sectors, except for a slew of exempted ones. The Ministry is actively engaging with industry stakeholders to assess the potential impact of import tariffs and to chart a strategic path forward.

Pharmaceuticals, electronics and semiconductors, energy products and certain minerals, copper, lumber, bullion, and automobiles and auto components are among the sectors exempted from the tariffs. In Financial Year (FY) 2025, around 40 per cent of India’s pharmaceutical exports were directed to the United States. India’s share in the US’s total pharma imports stood at 6 per cent in 2024.

As per a secondary market research analysis published by Bain and Company in the year 2025, Indian pharmaceutical exports ranked 11th globally in value terms in the year 2023 and accounted for 3 per cent of the total pharmaceutical exports.

As per the monthly trade data released by the Commerce Ministry, the major drivers of merchandise exports growth in July 2025 include engineering goods, electronic goods, gems & jewellery, drugs & pharmaceuticals and organic & inorganic chemicals. The data shows that the drugs & pharmaceuticals exports increased by 14.06 per cent from USD 2.33 billion in July 2024 to USD 2.66 billion in July 2025.

Major Indian pharmaceutical companies such as Company Sun Pharmaceutical, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Cipla, Biocon, Lupin, Glenmark Pharma, and Zydus (Zydus Lifesciences) have the biggest exposure to the US markets. (ANI)