India has a solid Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) Market, which is already serving the world with its high quality - low-cost ingredients. The industry stands around USD 12 billion, further expected to grow at 12.24% CAGR over the next five years. This strong growth is driven by the increasing geriatric world population and development in the country's biopharmaceutical sector. The global CoVID-19 pandemic has also acted as a catalyst to the sector's sharp growth. The Indian API market is further divided into synthetic and biological-based on the method of synthesis. The synthetic segment leads the industry with nearly two-thirds of the market share.
The supply chain crisis caused by the pandemic highlighted the world's over-dependence on China for API supply. Early on, India was among the countries affected by the situation but quickly restructured its domestic supply to meet the demand. Indian API manufacturers also proved to be reliable with steady exports at reasonable prices to help the world fight the CoVID-19 pandemic. India has emerged as a critical player in the API market and a dependable alternative to the Chinese suppliers. India's API export stood at USD ~5 billion for FY 21.
India has over 2700 API manufacturers, manufacturing greater than five hundred different APIs. Metformin, followed by Paracetamol, remains the most exported APIs by volume. Cefuroxime and Omeprazole are the most exported API in terms of value.
The Indian government has shown commitment to fostering this growth, with a nearly twofold increase in allocation to the Department of Pharmaceuticals. The majority of this is expected to target the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme and the creation of bulk drug parks, emphasizing the API market. Government initiatives like Atmanirbhar Bharat and Pharmaceutical Technology Upgradation Assistance Scheme are further expected to improve the domestic industry.
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