The pharmaceutical market in India is highly competitive because of affordable medicine with low-priced, locally-produced generics. India accounts for less than two percent of the global pharmaceutical market in terms of value and contributes about 10 percent of the global pharmaceutical production. The average per capita spending remains one of the lowest in the region.

According to Business Monitor International (BMI), the pharmaceuticals expenditure for the year 2010 stood at $13.8 billion and touched $15.6 billion in 2011, registering a growth of 13.2 percent. Healthcare spending too witnessed a growth of 12.2 percent from $65.1 billion in 2010 to $73 billion in 2011. The medical devices market in India stood at $2.9 billion in 2010 and registered a growth of 19.1 percent to touch $3.4 billion in 2011. The Indian market for medical equipment was valued at around $2.6 billion in 2011, witnessing a growth of 15.6 percent over 2010. The biotechnology market in India, including bioservices, biopharmaceuticals, bioagriculture, and industrial enzymes, stood at $4.13 billion in 2011.

India's biopharmaceutical sector is currently experiencing double-digit growth and this is expected to continue, driven by the vaccines and therapeutics market. Growth drivers include education and increased awareness of disease prevention, increase in disposable income and government participation in immunization programs.

India is known as the diabetes capital of the world and the number of diabetes patients in India is expected to grow to 70 million by 2025. Therefore, continued growth is expected in the diagnostic and therapeutic segments, including cancer and diabetes. Cancer therapies are lucrative for many Indian companies due to high unmet need, increased awareness and the comparative affordability of domestically produced drugs.

Though the medical devices market in India witnessed a double-digit growth, it still remains disproportionately small, with low per capita spending of less than $2.

High quality products are sought after, particularly in the private sector, and the high-tech end of the medical device market is dominated by multinationals. The increased demand for medical equipment and supplies is expected to come mainly from private sector hospitals and medical centers.
India, with its population in excess of one billion and a growing middle class with access to high quality healthcare, will encourage foreign companies to invest in medtech industry. Continued investment in the private sector infrastructure coupled with increased healthcare funding from the government should result in a steady increase in the market for medical equipment.