Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

The Indian pharmaceutical industry currently tops the chart amongst India's science-based industries with wide ranging capabilities in the complex field of drug manufacture and technology. A highly organized sector, the Indian pharmaceutical industry is estimated to be worth $ 4.5 billion, growing at about 8 to 9 percent annually. It ranks very high amongst all the third world countries, in terms of technology, quality and the vast range of medicines that are manufactured. It ranges from simple headache pills to sophisticated antibiotics and complex cardiac compounds, almost every type of medicine is now made in the Indian pharmaceutical industry .

The Indian pharmaceutical sector is highly fragmented with more than 20,000 registered units. It has expanded drastically in the last two decades. The Pharmaceutical and Chemical industry in India is an extremely fragmented market with severe price competition and government price control. The Pharmaceutical industry in India meets around 70% of the country's demand for bulk drugs, drug intermediates, pharmaceutical formulations, chemicals, tablets, capsules, orals and injectibles. There are approximately 250 large units and about 8000 Small Scale Units, which form the core of the pharmaceutical industry in India (including 5 Central Public Sector Units).