"India is the 'pharmacy of the world' by volume but not by value." Examine how schemes like PRIP seek to shift the sector towards innovation-led growth.

India ranks 3rd in pharmaceutical production by volume but 14th by value [1]. This gap comes from a model built on cheap generics rather than on discovering new medicines. The ₹5,000 crore Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma MedTech (PRIP) scheme aims to move the sector from cost-based to innovation-based growth [2].

Why volume has not become value

• Generic-led model: firms compete by cheaply copying off-patent molecules, not by creating new ones.
• Weak industry–academia linkage and thin research infrastructure [2].
• Risky early-stage research gets little patient capital (long-term investment), especially for start-ups.

How PRIP seeks the shift

• Research infrastructure (Component A): 7 Centres of Excellence at NIPERs, in fields such as anti-viral drug discovery, medical devices and phyto-pharmaceuticals [2][3].
• Risk-sharing (Component B, ₹4,250 crore): up to ₹5 crore for early-stage start-up/MSME projects; 35% of cost (capped at ₹100 crore) for later-stage projects [2].
• High-value segments: new medicines, complex generics, biosimilars and novel medical devices [2].
• Strategic Priority Innovation: support rises to 50% for rare diseases, AMR, vaccines and pandemic pathogens, where private markets under-invest [5].
• Early results: the first round approved 41 projects (₹1,600 crore), expected to draw ₹3,020 crore of private investment. Of these, 27 are new medicines and 19 are start-ups/MSMEs [4].

Limitations

• Scale gap: 710 applications in the first call [3], against 41 approvals so far [4].
• Front-loading: the first round used about 38% of Component B for about 14% of the ~300-project target [2][4].
• Push without pull: grants pay for research but do not guarantee buyers. WHO urges pull incentives (rewards paid once a drug reaches patients) for new antibiotics [6].
• Additionality: 22 of the 41 projects belong to large firms that already fund their own R&D [4].

Way forward

• Publish project-wise milestones and the private money actually spent.
• Pair AMR grants with guaranteed-purchase models.
• Reserve funds for early-stage start-ups; make the NIPER CoEs operational quickly.

PRIP combines infrastructure, shared risk and priority targeting, so it tackles the root cause of India's value gap. With transparent outcomes and support on the market side, it can make India the pharmacy of the world by value as well, advancing Atmanirbhar Bharat and SDG 3 (good health and well-being).