With the call for boycotting Chinese goods after the Galwan massacre progressively taking a high pitch across the country, sector-wise calculations are underway to measure exactly how much India is dependent on China for its imports. Startling facts that are emerging has exposed that across a host of sectors that are actually very much vital in context of the Indian economy and where imports particularly for raw material is a bare necessity, China is the preferred choice for the country’s manufacturers. It will be a rather lengthy list, but, when it comes to organic chemicals, iron and steel, electrical machinery, consumer goods and a host of others, it is unfailing China from where they are imported. But, nothing is attracting more attention than the pharmaceutical sector and facts and figures will prove how overwhelming the dependency is in this case.

Even from a rough estimate it is quite evident that nearly 65 % of the raw materials needed by the Indian drug makers are being sourced from China, which is not just dependency, but over-dependency, unbefitting for a country that officially propagates the dream of becoming the global third economic powerhouse within 5 years from now. This over-dependency has gone from strength to strength over years and thanks to the pandemic, the resultant lockdown  and the recent bloodshed, hard facts are not remaining restricted within the parameters of the pharma sector alone and are now being discussed by the citizens also. The criticality of the situation is that without these Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) or Key Starting Materials (KSMs), imports of which from China has now become an unwritten yet widely-practiced norm, almost the entire of the Indian pharma industry will be having nothing to produce, which is no less than a ‘lockdown’ altogether. It’s easy to realise how grave the consequences can possibly be which will directly hit hard the national drug security and a major part of the health apparatus.

India has tasted numerous bitter experiences delivered by China over the decades and the latest episode only amplifies the ‘unpredictability’ of the neighbour. For all practical purposes it can be presumed that there will be no shortage of flare-ups of this kind which will thereby mean further straining of bilateral relations, consequently with overarching ramifications on trade and commerce particularly the pharma sector.

It is high time that the Indian pharma industry acts fast to the wake-up call and strives for self-reliance. There is an unanimous clamour that the country must adopt a multipronged strategy to get out of this ‘vicious trap’. Gradual reduction of pharma ingredient imports from China and manufacturing them in the country simultaneously is the only option left.

Anyhow, India must not kneel before China for its pharma needs.