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Bulk drugs and intermediates import grows 17.4% in April 2024
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Gireesh Babu, New Delhi
June 26 , 2024
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Imports of bulk drugs and drug intermediates to the country have registered a 17.4 per cent growth, while exports from India declined around 4.2 per cent in the first month of the current fiscal year, according to official data.
The imports during April stood at $377.24 million, with 17.43 per cent growth compared to the $321.33 million imports of bulk drugs to the country reported in the same month of previous year. The official data on trade of bulk drugs and intermediates for the month of May is yet to be released.
In rupee terms, the imports grew 17.98 per cent, at Rs. 3,146.38 crore in April, 2024, as compared to Rs. 2,666.94 crore during the same month last year.
Quantity of bulk drug imports grew 19.30 per cent to 41,182.92 metric tonne, as compared to 34,521.79 metric tonne reported during April, last year.
Exports of bulk drugs and intermediates, however, reported a decline of 4.20 per cent at $355.44 million, as compared to $370.23 million in the month of April, 2023.
In rupee terms, the decline was 3.73 per cent, at Rs. 2,964.59 crore in April, this year, as against Rs. 3,079.4 crore during the corresponding month of last year.
The month also reported a decline of 5.19 per cent in quantity of exports at 36,321.95 metric tonne, while the quantity during the same month of last year was 38,309.22 metric tonne.
As reported earlier, the country has registered a growth of 4.12 per cent in overall imports of bulk drugs and intermediates at Rs. 37,721.88 crore during the fiscal year 2023-24, as compared to Rs. 36,229.15 crore during the previous fiscal year.
Imports from China stood at Rs. 27,055.22 crore during 2023-24, as compared to Rs. 25,550.91 crore during the previous fiscal year, with a growth of 5.89 per cent, according to data from Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S).
The overall growth of imports in value terms during the five years ended 2023-24 was 56.1 per cent, from Rs. 24,171.78 crore in 2019-20. Imports from China, during the same period registered growth of 64.5 per cent, from Rs. 16,443.1 crore in 2019-20.
In the last five years, the imports of bulk drugs and intermediates to India, in terms of value went up during the two fiscal years 2020-21 and 2021-22, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and the increase in overall costs. Overall bulk drug imports in terms of value grew 18.02 per cent and 23.55 per cent during 202-21 and 2021-22, respectively. While it came down to 2.78 per cent in 2022-23, this was on a higher base in the previous year.
The Centre has been adapting various measures to make the country self-sustaining in APIs and drug intermediates, with schemes and support spearheaded by the DoP. This include the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical key starting materials (KSMs)/drug intermediates (DIs) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in India, with a financial outlay of Rs. 6,940 crore and the tenure from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2029-30, financial incentive is given for manufacturing of 41 identified products. A total of 48 applications have been selected under the scheme.
Production linked incentive scheme for pharmaceuticals, with a financial outlay Rs. 15,000 crore and the tenure from FY 2020- 2021 to FY 2028-29, provides for financial incentive to 55 selected applicants for manufacturing of identified products under three categories for a period of six years. The product category two covers the APIs/KSMs/DIs except for the 41 eligible products already covered under the “Production linked incentive scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical key starting materials (KSMs)/drug intermediates (DIs)/active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in India”.
The Scheme for Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks, with a financial outlay of Rs. 3,000 crore and the tenure from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-25, provides for financial assistance to three states for establishing Bulk Drug Parks. The Department had received proposals from 13 states. After evaluation of the proposals as per prescribed criteria, the approval to the proposal of setting up Bulk Drug Parks in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were issued and these projects are in progress, according to the DoP.
The DoP in December, 2023, said that so far as regulatory measures are concerned, the ministry of health and family welfare and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has taken various steps to encourage indigenous manufacturing of drugs, including amendment in the Drugs Rules,1945 on October 27, 2017 providing that drugs manufacturing license, sale license and approval of drug testing laboratory shall remain valid, if licensee deposits a license retention fee as prescribed, before the expiry of a period of every succeeding five years from the date of its issue, unless it is suspended or cancelled by the licensing authority. The Drugs Rules, 1945 were amended through a notification in the year 2018 wherein application fees were increased for grant of import Registration Certificate as well as fees for overseas inspection, it said.
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