New Delhi, July 28 -- The Centre plans to overhaul its production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for bulk drugs, working towards a "nurturing approach" to support research and development, infrastructure and financing, department of pharmaceuticals secretary Manoj Joshi said in an interview.

The revamped scheme will award grants for technology development, support infrastructure and offer incentives for India's bulk drugs and advanced intermediates market, which the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences estimates at $20 billion.

Even as India's pharmaceutical industry has grown to $60 billion, the country relies on imports for certain critical classes of drugs. The dependence creates strategic vulnerabilities by exposing the pharmaceutical ...