India invites Japanese companies to invest in Indian pharma & medical industry

New Delhi: Post COVID-19 world will be very different from what it is now and the picture will be more clear in the times to come. India and Japan realising the potential of the new world order exploring the idea of partnerships in many sectors. Indian pharma and medical devices industry is one in the news after the webinar between Indian authorities and industry bodies of both the countries. The webinar 'Medical Devices and API sector: Challenges & Emerging Opportunities' was organised by the embassy of India, Tokyo in partnership with the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, India on Friday. 

Sanjay Kumar Verma, Ambassador of India to Japan sharing his thoughts on the potential partnership of both the countries said that it is going to be a golden opportunity for India and Japan to further boost their relationship in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Sectoral view and the investment opportunities in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry in India and various initiatives taken by India to promote trade and business in the country were presented by Dr PD Vaghela, Secretary, Pharmaceuticals. Navdeep Rinwa, Joint Secretary, Pharmaceuticals explained the Department's schemes to promote manufacturing of bulk drugs and medical devices viz. Production Linked Incentive schemes and Promotion of Bulk Drug/Medical Devices Parks and requested the delegates to avail benefits of the schemes.

During the webinar, Indian pharma industry bodies and Japan Federation of Medical Devices Associations deliberated on the Post COVID-19 challenges & opportunities for Pharmaceutical & Medical Device sectors and its impact on the global supply chain and suggested that cooperation between the two countries can contribute to stabilizing the supply-chain of especially APIs and Medical Devices. 

Minister (Economic & Commerce) in the embassy of India in Tokyo Mona Khandhar (IAS) talked in detail about the resilience and strength of the Indian economy and detailed on the stimulus & reform packages announced by the Government of India to address the COVID-19 crisis and to improve the investment environment. The advantages of the Indian economy, FDI ecosystem & Japan-specific facilitation were also mentioned.

Representatives of state governments of Gujarat, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Goa offered finer details of the investment opportunities in their respective states including a package for incentives and tax benefits, ease of doing business initiatives, land availability, infrastructural facilities, regulatory framework and invited Japanese companies for investing in their respective States.

Representatives of Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone, Wockhardt, Sun Pharma, Panacea Biotec and other large numbers of Japanese companies also participated in the webinar as part of G2B and B2B networking.