Pharma sector must attract more investment in clinical trials, R&D: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Sunday called for making the pharmaceutical sector more attractive for investments in clinical trials and research and development, and urged domestic industry to develop resilient supply chains and not depend on one or two geographies for certain imports.

“I don't mind if there is an import content, which is necessary (for product development). But you have to see if it is available in many geographies or many companies, all over the world, so that no one or two countries or companies can hold a gun and hold you to ransom. That is what resilience is all about,” he said at Bharat Health Global Expo 2026.

Goyal said that the world is now looking for resilience and is now comfortable if one is dependent geographically on one or two geographies, or if the supply chain has a potential threat of being weaponized, which could hurt the entire industry.


“There was a point of time we had the whole pharma industry…But now is the time to get back resilience, and by resilience, I am not inward looking,” he said.

Goyal also said that there may be certain countries such as in Africa where India’s pharma industry may have to go and invest also for the last mile delivery, encouraging some local value add and creating jobs.

Noting that the world is full of challenges today and making a case for free trade deals, he said: “The Strait of Hormoz is sometimes open and sometime closed. Covid was of course a wake-up call. Two wars going on. A lot of countries weaponizing their strengths in trade and commerce. Lot of export restrictions coming up in different products.”

India, he said, is negotiating another 8-10 trade deals or PTAs.

Generics, R&D

Goyal stated that the country can’t just rest its case with generics and needs to promote more R&D and patent its own products.

“(We need to be) more inviting for investments to come into India for clinical trials, patenting their products here, doing R&D here, introducing the new products over here. It needs a total reorientation of thoughts,” he said, adding that India needs to hear the investors and governments who are willing to come to the country.

“Biotech should become our next frontier, and we will have to offer to the world a regulatory mechanism where R&D and innovation becomes attractive in India. We'll have to have an open mind. We can't work with a closed or very protective mind,” he said.

The minister expressed hope that Indian regulators will look at the regulations in more developed countries and take a cue “for more regulatory convergence with the developed world”.

Ayush, med devices

On Ayush, Goyal said that it represents India’s traditional medicine and traditional wisdom, but India is still exporting raw herbs. He called for greater scientific validation of Ayush products so that they can gain wider acceptance globally. He also called for a need to move from just assemblies to more domestic, indigenous production of the medical devices and their components.