Healthcare supply chains must become resilient and globally integrated: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: Healthcare supply chains must become resilient and globally integrated, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 in New Delhi.

Goyal said India must strengthen its position as a trusted healthcare partner of the world. He also called for greater research, development and innovation beyond the country’s success in generics.

The minister attended the expo with Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal also attended the event.

Goyal said India’s pharmaceutical sector had a major opportunity to showcase its capabilities globally. He said the country, known as the “pharmacy of the world”, must target a bigger and better future.

He described the Bharat Health Global Expo as the beginning of a larger platform. The expo brings the healthcare value chain together and can encourage greater international participation.

Later, the platform could also host country pavilions and partner countries, Goyal said. Foreign companies could then showcase their products alongside Indian companies.

This, he said, would allow India to demonstrate its capabilities with confidence. It would also help Indian companies compete with the best in the world.

Goyal stressed that global markets were increasingly seeking resilient supply chains. He said excessive dependence on one or two locations could create serious risks.

Supply chains that could potentially be weaponised also remained a concern, he said. Therefore, India needed to restore resilience in areas where it had previously lost ground.

The minister cited Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Key Starting Materials as examples. India had earlier lost ground in these areas for various reasons, he said.

However, Goyal clarified that resilience should not mean turning inward. India did not need to produce everything domestically, and imports would remain necessary where required.

Instead, products should come from multiple geographies and companies. This would prevent one or two countries or companies from threatening business continuity.

Goyal said pooling India’s demand could identify products that the country currently imports. Such products could offer opportunities for indigenous production.

Meanwhile, countries worldwide are competing to attract investment and strengthen their own supply chains. This competition now includes both developing and developed economies.

The United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Singapore and European countries are also seeking investments. As a result, India must strengthen its investment proposition while competing globally.

The minister said pharmaceutical companies must adopt an outward-looking approach. Indian firms may need overseas investments for local value addition, jobs and last-mile delivery.

He specifically cited opportunities in African countries. Therefore, he said the pharmaceutical industry would need to develop a global outlook in the years ahead.

Goyal also called for stronger research and innovation. He said India’s success in generics had resulted from sustained efforts by the pharmaceutical industry.

However, he said the country could not rely only on generics if it wanted to become a developed country by 2047. India must develop and patent its own products, he said.

The pharmaceutical sector should lead research and development, according to Goyal. He urged companies, engineers and Indian talent to focus on new molecules, biosimilars and biotechnology.

He also called for greater use of programmes supporting research and innovation. The Research and Development Innovation Fund was among the initiatives he highlighted.

India must also create a regulatory system that makes research and innovation attractive, Goyal said. The framework should support clinical trials, product patents, research and development and new product launches.

He urged Indian regulators to examine rules in developed countries. Such comparisons could help India move towards greater regulatory convergence with the developed world.

Goyal said India needed to align its approach with global standards. He also urged the government to listen to investors and governments worldwide while shaping a new pathway for the sector.

The minister highlighted medical value travel as another major opportunity. He said almost USD 8 billion was spent in this area.

Indian hospitals have become modern and world-class, Goyal said. He also praised Indian doctors, technicians and nurses for their capabilities.

He called for medical value travel to be taken up on a mission mode. SEPC had already undertaken initiatives with CII, FICCI and other organisations, he noted.

The government would support efforts to promote Indian healthcare globally through the EPM and India Brand Equity Fund, Goyal said. He urged the industry to submit proposals quickly.

Healthcare supply chains can support India’s global health ambitions

Goyal said India had repeatedly demonstrated its role as a trusted healthcare partner. He cited the COVID pandemic, global supplies of generics and emerging Indian innovations.

The minister said new innovations and patented products could help take the industry to its next level. He added that the sector should not remain satisfied with its current position.

The last 40 years had been a defining period for India’s pharmaceutical industry, Goyal said. Nevertheless, he urged the sector to “aim for the skies”.

Infrastructure was another focus of his address. Goyal said the government was developing bulk drug parks in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

He also said 100 new industrial parks were coming up. Dedicated areas could be provided for pharmaceutical and healthcare companies where required.

Similarly, Goyal invited companies in engineering, aerospace and defence to identify locations suited to their needs. The government, he said, was ready to create plug-and-play infrastructure for different sectors.

Medical devices also needed greater attention, according to Goyal. Although India had made progress, he said the sector still had significant ground to cover.

He called for a shift from assemblies towards domestic production. The goal, he said, should include indigenous components and a complete medical devices ecosystem.

Doctors, nurses, technicians and hospitals should also become more aware of better products available in India, Goyal said. A stronger domestic market could then support exports.

The large Indian market could provide economies of scale, he added. MSMEs could support the indigenisation of components and equipment, while larger companies could build scale.

Collectively, these efforts could create millions of jobs and attract billions of dollars in investment. They could also make India more resilient against future crises.

Goyal also highlighted Ayush and India’s traditional medicine systems. He said India was still exporting raw herbs despite the sector’s potential.

Greater scientific validation of Ayush products could help them gain wider acceptance globally, he said. The government was already working in this direction.

The minister stressed the importance of collaboration across the healthcare sector. He said India had planned similar initiatives in areas where it had strong capabilities.

Pharmaceuticals remain one of the country’s biggest strengths, Goyal said. Therefore, he favoured bringing the sector together on a single platform instead of holding separate conferences for different segments.

A unified platform could attract participants from 50 countries and around 1,000 people from across the world, he said. It could also give stakeholders a wider view of developments across the sector.

Such a platform would allow participants to compare developments and identify the best practices. Goyal said India must have the confidence to compete with the best globally.

Competition, he said, would ultimately depend on quality, timely delivery and good customer service. India had both the opportunity and capability to showcase its strengths in healthcare.

Goyal also highlighted expanding international market access. Free trade agreements were opening global markets for Indian industry, he said.

Almost two-thirds of the global market already had preferential market access for India, according to Goyal. India was also negotiating another 8 to 10 multilateral or bilateral FTAs or PTAs.

These agreements could provide access to almost 75 per cent of global trade, he said. Goyal compared this with India’s position before 2014.

Until 2014, India’s FTAs collectively provided access to markets with a combined GDP of USD 10 trillion, he said. In contrast, the nine FTAs referred to by Jitin Prasada covered 38 developed countries.

Those agreements opened access to markets with a combined GDP of USD 60 trillion, Goyal said. That figure was six times higher than the market access available until 2014.

He noted that many of these agreements had remained stuck for 25 years. Now, he said, Indian industry had greater opportunities to connect with global markets.

Goyal described Indian industry as competitive and best in class. He also highlighted India’s strong talent base.

However, he said companies now needed greater ambition and higher goals. They also needed to connect different capabilities and opportunities.

The minister said Bharat Health was attempting to do this by bringing organisations together. The platform aimed to promote collaboration and cooperation across the healthcare sector.

Healthy competition remained necessary, Goyal said. At the same time, the industry needed to collaborate and build common strengths.

He urged companies to adopt a modern outlook and expand globally. Quality should remain the top priority, while businesses should also build resilience and scale.

Goyal further called for greater investment in R&D and innovation. He asked the industry to use Indian capabilities, talent and opportunities created through trade partnerships.

The minister also called on the sector to earn greater trust, goodwill and market share worldwide. He said India should work towards becoming the “health stack for the globe”.

High-quality healthcare, he said, was essential for people, economies and countries to succeed. Therefore, healthcare would remain central to India’s broader development goals.

Goyal said Viksit Bharat 2047 rested on the shoulders of the healthcare sector. The industry would have to support a healthy India with quality healthcare facilities and medicines.

The sector also has a role in preventive wellness and curative healthcare for 1.4 billion people, he said. Goyal described this responsibility as a mainstay of Viksit Bharat 2047.