India's pharmaceutical exports reached a record $35 billion in FY26, with generic medicines accounting for 70 per cent of export volume and the Indian industry consolidating its position as the single largest supplier of affordable medicines to global health systems.

Indian manufacturers supply approximately 60 per cent of total procurement by the World Health Organization's vaccine programme, 40 per cent of all generic prescriptions dispensed in the United States, and over 25 per cent of medicine requirements in Africa — a supply role that became starkly visible during the COVID-19 pandemic when Indian production of vaccines and antivirals was critical to global response.

The industry faces growing pressure from originator pharmaceutical companies and some US legislators who argue that Indian generic entry timelines are being accelerated unfairly through patent challenge strategies. The government has defended India's compulsory licensing provisions as consistent with the WTO's TRIPS Agreement flexibilities for public health.

New growth areas include biosimilars — complex biological medicines where Indian companies have developed significant capability — and active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing, which has expanded domestically following supply chain vulnerabilities exposed during the COVID-19 period when India's dependence on Chinese API imports became strategically concerning.