Piyush Goyal Calls for India to Become a Global Healthcare and Medical Hub
India Must Strengthen Medtech Innovation, Incubation and Intellectual Property Ecosystem: Goyal
The Impressive TimesNew Delhi: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for India to expand its role as the “pharmacy of the world” and position itself as a leading global destination for medical and healthcare services.
Speaking at the Pharma Machtech and Labnext Expo 2026 in New Delhi, Goyal said India’s healthcare sector must move beyond medicines and treatment to cover prevention, wellness, diagnostics, caregiving, medical devices, telemedicine, digital health, research and advanced healthcare technologies.
Goyal urged pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to make greater use of opportunities created by India’s expanding network of free trade agreements (FTAs).
He said the economies covered by India’s trade agreements have grown significantly in recent years. While agreements before 2014 collectively covered economies with a GDP of around $10 trillion, nine free trade and bilateral trade agreements finalised over the past four to four-and-a-half years cover economies worth nearly $60 trillion.
Ongoing negotiations could increase the coverage to around $75 trillion, he said, creating additional opportunities for lower-duty market access, services and professional mobility.
The Minister said medical machinery, equipment, consumables and related industries have considerable potential for exports, import substitution and services.
According to Goyal, the healthcare and medtech ecosystem could generate crores of employment opportunities, thousands of businesses and lakhs of startups, particularly for young entrepreneurs.
He stressed the need to build a stronger incubation and startup ecosystem for medical technology, equipment and consumables. Greater attention should also be given to product design, patents, copyrights and intellectual property protection.
Goyal encouraged Indian companies to collaborate with international research institutions, pharmaceutical companies and technology developers. He also proposed establishing design and innovation centres in India.
He said India can adopt suitable technologies developed globally while simultaneously taking Indian innovations to international markets. Technology licensing, co-development, joint ventures, knowledge transfer and collaborative product development can help accelerate this process.
The Minister also emphasised the importance of developing domestic capabilities in medicines, research and medical equipment.
Goyal stressed the importance of reducing vulnerabilities in healthcare supply chains through greater domestic manufacturing.
Recalling shortages of critical equipment such as ventilators and oxygenators during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said India must strengthen its domestic capabilities while maintaining high standards of quality.
He also pointed to changes in the GST framework aimed at improving affordability and opportunities in the sector, along with a commitment of ₹1 lakh crore towards research, innovation and funding.
Goyal said India should aim not only to provide affordable and high-quality healthcare to its own population but also to deliver medical and wellness services to people around the world.
He highlighted the potential of an integrated ecosystem involving Indian medicines and medical equipment, doctors, nurses, caregivers, technicians, hospital administrators, engineers and other healthcare professionals.
Artificial Intelligence, he added, can improve efficiency and help healthcare professionals work more effectively, although human caregiving and nursing will continue to remain indispensable.
The Minister highlighted India’s cost advantage in research and development and called for stronger collaboration between industry, academia, medical colleges, IITs and other centres of excellence.
He said India has significant potential in areas such as product innovation, medical-device design, clinical trials and domestic equipment manufacturing. With 100% FDI permitted through the automatic route, the sector can also attract greater international investment.
Goyal further called for developing critical component manufacturing capabilities and creating shared testing facilities where Indian medical equipment can be evaluated against global benchmarks, certified and demonstrated to international buyers.
The government, he said, would support the procurement of advanced testing equipment for such facilities in government-supported and university laboratories.
The Minister expressed confidence that cooperation among entrepreneurs, startups, researchers, healthcare professionals and industry can help strengthen India’s healthcare ecosystem and contribute to the country’s goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047.
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