India can be termed ‘pharmacy of the world’, says ICMR
Dr Kant said that India now has a strong research base, while the Government is also encouraging private companies to produce medicines.
India managed to produce its own diagnostic kits, and it was among the first countries to produce vaccines during Covid. (Photo: Unsplash)
Guwahati, Oct 30: At one point in time, India had to depend largely on imported medicines, but the scene has totally changed now, and the country can be termed as the “pharmacy of the world”, said Dr Rajni Kant, the “Chair” of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Dr Kant said that India now has a strong research base, while the Government is also encouraging private companies to produce medicines. He said that now only a limited amount of medicines are imported. India’s exports are now much more than imports, he added.
Dr Kant pointed out that the Covid pandemic made India’s healthcare system much more robust. India managed to produce its own diagnostic kits, and it was among the first countries to produce vaccines. The rollout of Covid vaccination programme in a country with such a large population was not the easiest of tasks, but India managed to vaccinate most of its citizens within a short period of time. India’s vaccination programme was among the best in the world.
Dr Kant said that India not only managed to produce vaccines for its own citizens but also provided vaccines to around 100 countries, which was a great achievement.
Before Covid pandemic, India did not produce PPE kits, but within a limited time frame, India not only managed to produce enough PPE kits to fulfill its own requirements but also managed to export it.
With the increase in the Health Budget, the standard of research improved considerably, and that led to the manufacture of new medicines and vaccines.
Dr Kant pointed out that it is difficult for the pharmaceutical companies alone to roll out new medicines without research and Government support. The present Government is keen to make India self-reliant on medicines and medical equipment. The linkage between the Government and pharmaceutical companies improved considerably, and several mega projects are being implemented in a private-public participation mode to augment medicine and healthcare equipment production.
Dr Kant admitted that India is still importing some medicines, including some cancer medicines. But at the same time, he expressed the view that if the Government support continues, India would be totally self-reliant within the next few years.