The Centre is set to launch a major scheme this month aimed at boosting innovation in India’s pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors, a move officials say will strengthen domestic capabilities and global competitiveness.
The Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma MedTech sector (PRIP) scheme, first notified in August 2023, carries a financial outlay of ₹5,000 crore. Of this, ₹4,250 crore will be channelled into scaling up the R&D ecosystem.
We are focusing in a very big way now on innovation in India. The PRIP scheme was announced some time ago, and we hope to formally roll it out within this month, said Department of Pharmaceuticals Secretary Amit Agrawal, addressing the APACMed event on September 16.
The scheme will provide funding support of 35%–50%, depending on the stage of development and nature of the proposal. Both early-stage start-ups and late-stage projects will be eligible. According to Agrawal, the initiative is also designed to reduce India’s reliance on imported raw materials and components, thereby encouraging companies to anchor production domestically.
Highlighting the strong growth trajectory of the medical technology sector, Agrawal said it had maintained double-digit growth for over 15 years and was poised to expand further for decades ahead. To bolster infrastructure, three medical device parks are currently under development and expected to be operational by early 2027. The next phase of the scheme, he added, will focus on creating specialised facilities to produce medical-grade materials locally.
Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel described medtech as a “sunrise sector,” underlining the government’s policy push to promote its growth. “Domestic manufacturing has been scaling up, exports are rising across segments, and India is now transitioning into a high-volume, high-value player in the global medtech market,” she said.
