The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been requested by a parliamentary committee to establish short- and long-term goals for reducing the dependence of the Indian pharmaceutical industry on imported raw materials from approximately 80% at present to 30%–40% in the following five years.

The Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, which is affiliated with the Department, stated in its report that it is fully aware of the current situation in which the Indian pharmaceutical industry is heavily dependent on imports for the majority of its raw materials.

The panel was headed by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, who said “The committee recommends that specific targets, both short term and long term, should be set for reducing the dependence on imported raw materials from around 80 per cent at present to 30 or 40 per cent in the next five years.”

The committee recommended that the planned mission project be integrated with the initiatives being carried out in this area by other ministries and departments as well as the private sector in order to accomplish this.

In order to prevent financial limitations from impeding the urgently required research activity, it was stated that appropriate funds should be set aside for the purpose.

The report further stated that opportunities for utilizing cutting-edge developing technologies, such artificial intelligence (AI), should be investigated with the overall goal of attaining the required results in the shortest amount of time.

 (Source: https://theprint.in/india/set-specific-targets-to-reduce-pharmaceutical-industrys-dependence-on-imported-raw-materials-par-panel-to-csir/1446205/)