India Must Lead With Pharma Standards And Innovation, Says Finance Minister

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised India's need to establish its pharmaceutical standards. She highlighted the importance of the idea while inaugurating the India Idea Conclave 2024. The Finance Minister (FM) also underscored the need to leverage the country’s advancements in quick commerce to position India as a hub for innovative solutions.

Sitharaman suggested that these efforts could catalyse the scaling of Indian enterprises globally, encouraging a distinctive "Bharatiya" identity. She expressed confidence that this approach could drive Indian businesses to emerge as significant players in the global technology sector.

Ms. Sitharaman, Finance Minister, said in a statement, “You don’t need a U.S. FDA standard. You may take it very well. Please do take it because that helps your exports. But can we in India not have a Bharat FDA, Food and Drugs Administration, which can give global standards of benchmarks? If you reach a benchmark, your pharmaceutical products are going to be good enough, or even unsurpassed.”She also said,  “Our gig economy start-ups, especially quick commerce, for instance, are truly one of the kinds of innovation that only India has. No doubt, we need to hand hold and support our brick-and-mortar retail. But let us use this to brand India as a destination of innovative solutions to modern urban needs. Economic well-being has to be guided by dharma and should be devoid of elements such as expansionism, exploitation, and aggression.”

The FM further emphasised, “We are recontextualising India, its characteristics and values, which have been notoriously continuing for a long time. To build brand Bharat, we want to remove all the notorious branding that happened much to our dislike. We take care of our children. They are educated and skilled. If customers want products from India that are masterclass, we do not want to be told we employ sweat labour. We want to stand up and speak if this is not music to many.”