Piyush Goyal Pushes India as Global Healthcare Hub

• Goyal urges India to emerge as a global medical and healthcare destination
• FTA network offers wider market access opportunities for healthcare exports
• Focus on medtech startups, incubation, R&D and intellectual property
• Minister stresses self-reliance and resilient healthcare supply chains

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 7th Sept: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for India to build on its position as the “pharmacy of the world” and emerge as a global medical and healthcare destination.

Addressing the Pharma Machtech and Labnext Expo 2026 in New Delhi, Goyal said India’s healthcare ecosystem should extend beyond treatment to prevention, wellness, caregiving, diagnostics, laboratory capabilities, medical devices, telemedicine, digital health, innovation and research.

The Minister urged the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry to leverage opportunities created by India’s expanding free trade agreement (FTA) network. He said nine free trade and bilateral trade agreements finalised over the past four to four-and-a-half years cover economies with a combined GDP of around $60 trillion, compared with around $10 trillion covered by FTAs before 2014. Ongoing negotiations could further expand the coverage to around $75 trillion, he said.

Goyal said the medical and pharmaceutical machinery, consumables and related sectors have significant potential for merchandise exports, import substitution and services exports. He highlighted the potential of the medtech sector to generate jobs, businesses and startups while improving access to quality healthcare.

He called for a stronger startup incubation ecosystem for medtech, medical equipment and consumables, along with improvements in design, patents, copyrights and intellectual property capabilities. He also encouraged collaboration with overseas R&D centres, global innovators and pharmaceutical companies and called for establishing design centres in India.

The Minister stressed the importance of technology partnerships, joint ventures, co-designing, licensing, knowledge sharing and technology transfer to strengthen self-reliance while enabling Indian technologies to reach global markets.

Goyal also called for greater domestic capabilities in research, medicines and medical equipment. He highlighted the government’s commitment of ₹1 lakh crore towards research, development, innovation and funding and urged industry stakeholders to use these opportunities to develop new equipment and medicines.

Emphasising resilient healthcare supply chains, Goyal recalled shortages of oxygenators and ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed the need for greater indigenisation while maintaining high-quality standards.

He said India should aim to provide not only quality healthcare to its citizens but also wellness and healthcare services to people across the world. He highlighted the potential of an integrated ecosystem involving medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, doctors, nurses, caregivers, technicians, hospital administrators and engineering professionals.

Goyal said Artificial Intelligence can improve efficiency and help healthcare professionals work more effectively, while human caregiving and nursing would continue to remain essential.

He further highlighted India’s cost advantage in R&D and called for stronger collaboration among industry, academia, medical colleges, IITs and other centres of excellence. He also emphasised the potential for innovation, clinical trials and equipment manufacturing in India.

The Minister said 100 per cent FDI is permitted through the automatic route in the sector and noted the pharmaceutical industry’s shift from volume to value, citing the Economic Survey 2025–26.

Goyal also proposed shared testing infrastructure where Indian medical equipment can be tested, benchmarked against global standards, certified and demonstrated to international buyers. He said the government would support the acquisition of advanced testing equipment for such facilities in government-sponsored or university laboratories.