US industry seeks R&D policy for India's pharma sector ahead of Budget 2023

Ahead of the Union Budget 2023-24, the US pharma industry has said that India should come out with a research and development policy for its pharmaceutical sector.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to table the Union Budget for the financial year 2023-24 before parliament on February 1.

It is time that the government of India comes out with a research and development policy for the pharmaceutical sector, Karun Rishi, president of USA-India Chamber of Commerce (USAIC) told PTI.

Based out of Boston, the USAIC for the last 16 years has been organising the India-US health care summit which is attended by the who's who of the pharma sector from both India and the United States.

In the BioPharma sector, the budget should aim to move up the value chain driven by research and development. Right policy push can provide India the fuel to become the R&D hub of the world, Rishi said in response to a question.

For national security and stabilising the global supply chain, the budget should incentivise R&D and manufacturing, especially enhancing API (active pharma ingredients) manufacturing in India, he asserted.

Observing that in the midst of a global downturn, India is a bright spot, he said Sitharaman and her team should focus on growth strategies, increasing public expenditure on healthcare, capacity building, skills development and employment creation.

Though challenging, the finance minister should stick to the fiscal deficit target. During COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government gave the economy a much-needed capital expenditure push and doled out subsidies. This led to a rise in the fiscal deficit, Rishi said.