India’s pharmaceutical sector continues to show strong export resilience despite facing war-related supply chain shocks, which have become the ‘new normal’, Pharmexcil chairman Namit Joshi said on Thursday at an event in New Delhi.
Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) operates under the commerce ministry.
Valued at over $50 billion and projected to hit $130 billion by 2030, the pharma market relies heavily on MSMEs to sustain growth, he said.
Despite shipping route closures in the Strait of Hormuz and air-cargo collapses that stranded vaccines and vital raw materials, drug exports expanded 6.8% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 (FY27). Industry leaders now treat geopolitical instability in West Asia not as a temporary crisis, but as an operational baseline.
Yet sustained expansion depends on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which operate roughly 60% of the country’s manufacturing facilities. Faced with mandatory regulatory overhauls that cost up to ₹12 crore per unit, small factory owners, many already leveraged against personal assets, risk being left behind without targeted financial support, he said.
MSMEs run over 6,000 of India's 10,300 pharma factories.
At the same time, regulators in India are attempting to salvage the country's global reputation following past high-profile overseas scandals involving contaminated cough syrups. Pharmexcil executives argue that while illegal operators must be jailed, compliant suppliers require urgent funding to secure their place in global supply chains.
Geopolitical challenges and disruptions in West Asia have become the new normal, yet Indian pharma exports have shown remarkable resilience. To capitalize on this momentum, the sector relies heavily on small and medium producers to sustain a long-term trajectory.
However, meeting new manufacturing quality rules requires ₹5 crore to ₹12 crore per unit—a huge hurdle for small owners who have already pledged personal assets for bank loans. While government schemes offer support, industry leaders are pushing for flexible financial solutions to help genuine units upgrade, alongside strict penalties for quality offenders.
“There is zero compromise on product quality. While rogue operators who risk human lives must face strict legal action, including imprisonment, legitimate MSME units striving to meet global standards urgently need financial hand-holding to upgrade,” Joshi said. International trust has since rebounded strongly, with Indian exports registering double-digit growth across key markets in Africa and Central Asia. To solidify these gains, Pharmexcil aims to secure $1.4 billion in trade opportunities at its upcoming iPHEX 2026 conference in New Delhi.
The conference is scheduled to be held from 7 to 9 September at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, with over 800 exhibitors and 600 overseas delegates expected to attend.