NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

India may have emerged as a key supplier of generic and affordable medicine for the world market, but it has an “overwhelming dependence” on China for the raw material required to produce these drugs, industry association Assocham said.

Indian companies depend on China to supply them with the main raw material in drug making — known as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API). The dependence is to the extent of over 65 per cent, an ASSOCHAM-RNCOS joint paper said.

Though the government has taken steps like withdrawal of exemption in customs duties , imports worth Rs 13,853 crore in 2015-16 or 65.29 per cent of the total imports of Rs 21,216 crore are not sustainable, the association said.

“This is all the more disconcerting in the face of louder narrative against reducing trade gap with China which is well over USD 51 billion,” it said.