New Delhi, April 9 -- India is struggling to bridge a logistical gap that leaves its huge pharmaceutical industry reliant on imports for a key chemical, even as domestic capacity sits idle. While state-run plants can increase pharma-grade methanol production, the distance between manufacturing hubs in the northeast and drug clusters in the west and south has created a distribution bottleneck.

Top government officials are now coordinating between ministries to prevent medicine shortages as the West Asia war squeezes global supply chains. The issue shows a broader weakness in India's pharmaceutical status: the inability to efficiently transport raw materials from domestic refineries to the lab bench.

At an update to the media on the domes...