How far can PLI schemes deliver Atmanirbhar Bharat in healthcare manufacturing? Evaluate with reference to medical devices.

Self-reliance in health means making not merely the finished product but its critical inputs at home. India still imports nearly 86% of its medical device requirement [3], making the three PLI schemes of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (combined outlay ₹25,360 crore) the real test. They have delivered substantially at the drug end, but only partially in medical devices.

Merits: where PLI has advanced self-reliance

• Bulk drugs: 39 projects covering 28 APIs/KSMs commissioned; fermentation-based Penicillin-G, Clavulanic Acid and Rifampicin are made domestically again [1] — capacity no private firm would have restarted unaided.
• Pharmaceuticals: ₹46,744 crore invested against a ₹17,275 crore target, with 1,21,294 jobs; about 64% of sales are exports, i.e. output competitive at world prices [1].
• Medical devices: production of 57 unique devices has begun, including MRI, CT, Cath Labs and Linear Accelerators, with GE Healthcare, Siemens and Philips expanding Indian operations alongside technology transfer [1].

Limitations: the medical devices test

• Smallest purse for the widest gap: ₹3,420 crore, against ₹15,000 crore for pharmaceuticals [1], though dependence is highest here [3].
• Thin, sales-linked support: 5% on incremental sales for five years [1] can reward growth that would occur anyway, and is weak for capital-heavy imaging equipment.
• Assembly is not manufacture: if detectors, magnets and chips remain imported, dependence merely shifts down the value chain.
• Unverifiable value for money: no investment, sales or employment data is reported for devices, and no incentive-disbursed figure for any scheme [1].
• Sustainability: imports persist "mainly due to economic considerations" [2], and capacity covers only 28 of 41 critical products [2] — plants must survive on cost once incentives lapse.

PLI has therefore taken Atmanirbhar Bharat far in formulations, moderately in bulk drugs, and least in medical devices. Completing the three Bulk Drug Parks (central assistance up to ₹1,000 crore each) [3] to cut permanent running costs, tying device incentives to India-made high-value components, and publishing disbursement data would convert assembly-stage gains into durable manufacturing capability — the foundation of affordable health security under SDG-3.