Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah today attended the PharmaInnova Awards Ceremony-2026, organised by Troika Pharmaceuticals, as the Chief Guest in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

In his address, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has set a goal before the nation that when India celebrates the centenary of its Independence, the country should be number one in the world in every field. India should be secure, educated, develop while preserving its civilisational values, and occupy a leading position among the world’s economies. India has the strength to achieve all this, and we need to channelise this strength, formulate policies accordingly, and take the policy framework down to the grassroots level from an implementation perspective. When Modi Ji became the Prime Minister of the country in 2014, India was the world’s 11th-largest economy, and in just the last 12 years, we have become the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Shri Amit Shah said that the COVID-19 crisis proved that India handled the pandemic in the best possible manner in the world. He said this was because while governments across the world fought the COVID-19 pandemic, in India, the people, State Governments and the Central Government fought it together.

Union Home Minister said that our youth built and launched a private satellite into space at a cost 22 times lower than that in the United States, and today, millions of startups are emerging across the country. During the COVID-19 pandemic, India was among the first three countries in the world to develop a vaccine. We not only vaccinated our own people but also sent vaccines to 70 countries across the world, helping save lives there. What is needed is for India to overcome its inferiority complex, to encourage our youth and instil confidence and enthusiasm in them that we can do it—and we have already demonstrated that we can.

Shri Amit Shah said that in 2014, India was counted among the “Fragile Five” and it was said that the country was suffering from policy paralysis. The same India has today emerged as one of the world’s most attractive manufacturing hubs and has earned global recognition. We have changed the rules, the mindset, the systems and the processes. In 2014, only 1.8 crore households in the country had toilets, whereas today, 13 crore households have toilets. There is a very strong correlation between a person’s health and the availability of a toilet at home, because sanitation plays a major role in preventing diseases. Similarly, today, 16 crore households receive clean drinking water through taps.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah said that the Modi Government introduced the Ayushman Bharat scheme for the poorest sections of society in India, under which the Government of India bears the entire cost of treatment up to ₹5 lakh. There are 70 crore people in the country for whose treatment expenses coverage was initiated under the scheme. In the healthcare sector, we have adopted a holistic healthcare approach and worked simultaneously on patient care, health infrastructure, medicines, research and development, and manufacturing. Subsequently, ₹1.60 lakh crore was spent on rural health infrastructure, followed by the establishment of a network of hospitals and the expansion of hospital facilities into rural areas. Now, it is the turn of the pharmaceutical industry. India must not only become self-reliant in the field of medicines but also take on the responsibility of supplying medicines to the world.

Shri Amit Shah said that under the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the Modi Government has also implemented the PLI scheme in this sector. We have provided incentives for manufacturing critical APIs, Key Starting Materials and medical devices in India. Through the Bulk Drug Park and Medical Device Park policies, a world-class manufacturing ecosystem is being created in India for the entire world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, even under such extremely challenging circumstances, after meeting the requirements of 140 crore people, India became a net exporter of PPE kits and N-95 masks. Within 13 months, we developed both our vaccines, Covaxin and Covishield. These Bulk Drug Parks and the PLI scheme formulated for the pharmaceutical sector are going to prove highly effective in the coming days, both in strengthening India’s pharmaceutical industry and in breaking China’s dominance in this sector. So far, investments worth ₹42,700 crore have been made under these initiatives, and India has exported drugs worth more than ₹3.64 lakh crore.

Union Home Minister said that every company will have to focus on research and encourage students engaged in research, meritorious students and professionals. The Government of India has also introduced three good schemes to promote research. Unless we promote research, we cannot move forward. We have also formulated a national policy to promote research and innovation in the pharma and medtech sectors. The PRIP scheme is a multi-thousand-crore-rupee initiative through which the government can support you. Shri Shah said that today we are also manufacturing ventilators, and an ecosystem is being created under which all medical devices will begin to be manufactured in India before 2028.

****

RK/RR/PR/PS