The government has notified new schemes to incentivise domestic manufacturing of active pharma ingredients (API) and medical devices. The move is aimed at boosting India’s self-reliance and curbing India’s dependence on China for APIs, drug intermediaries, and key starting materials. India currently imports over 60 percent of bulk drugs and 85 percent of medical devices.

Some of the key highlights of the policies are that the government has announced a production linked incentive scheme to promote domestic manufacturing of 53 critical bulk drugs. Manufacturers selected, would be given financial incentives on sales for a period of 6 years. A total of Rs 6,940 crore has been sanctioned for this scheme.

Further, the government has envisaged setting up 4 medical devices parks across the country. A grant-in-aid of Rs 100 crore each would be given to states, who shall be selected via a challenge method. In-principle approval for the scheme shall be given within 60 days.

The big question however is are these incentives enough to encourage domestic manufacturers? Will the sweeteners offset the high cost of manufacturing? Will the eligibility criteria work to the advantage of the bigger players or for the value chain as whole?

To discuss that, CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan caught up with Vinati Saraf Mutreja, the Managing Director and CEO of Vinati Organics; Dinesh Dua, the Chairman of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India and Member of CII'S National Pharmaceuticals Committee; and VV Krishna Reddy, the President of Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association and Member of FICCI's Pharma Committee.