The recent spate of takeovers by Indian pharmaceutical companies by multinational corporations is a matter of serious concern, said Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, addressing the 49th annual meeting of Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association in Mumbai.
The development would have repercussions not only on the availability of affordable drugs in India but also across the world, he said, adding that he had taken up the issue with the Ministry of Commerce and requested reconsideration of an FDI policy in this industry.
It is not enough for the Indian drug makers to rank among top three globally, but climb the quality ladder and become a top global quality manufacturer, he said. The minister welcomed the association's decision to observe 2011-2012 as golden jubilee year, by undertaking various corporate social services for the a am aadmi.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third largest in the world volume-wise. Its total turnover was Rs 100,000 crore of which exports account for Rs 42,000 crore.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.