The Department of Pharmaceuticals, under the Government of India, has invited fresh applications from pharmaceutical companies for its Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. This initiative aims to support the establishment of new manufacturing capacities for 11 critical pharmaceutical products.
The eligible products include antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs such as Neomycin, Gentamycin, Erythromycin, Streptomycin, Tetracycline, Ciprofloxacin, and Diclofenac Sodium. According to the department’s recent notification, these products remain unsubscribed or partially subscribed from earlier application rounds. Interested manufacturers must submit their applications by June 14.
Applicants must adhere to specific guidelines, including allocation based on available capacities, an incentive ceiling per product, and incentives applicable only up to a defined production period—FY28 for chemical synthesis products and FY29 for fermentation-based products. Companies that were previously approved but withdrew or had their approval revoked are ineligible to reapply.
The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) has encouraged its members to seize this opportunity. Raja Bhanu, Director General of Pharmexcil, emphasized that this move would help companies strengthen their manufacturing of essential pharmaceutical ingredients.
This PLI scheme is part of a broader government push to enhance domestic production of key starting materials (KSMs), drug intermediates (DIs), and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Launched in 2020 and revised later that year, the scheme covers 41 products and involves a financial outlay of ₹6,940 crore.
Overall, the PLI initiative for 14 key sectors—including pharmaceuticals, bulk drugs, and medical devices—has seen robust uptake. As of March 2025, the government has approved 764 applications, attracting investments worth ₹1.61 lakh crore (approx. $18.72 billion), with ₹14,020 crore in incentives already disbursed across sectors such as IT hardware, telecom, electronics, food processing, and healthcare.
