India's pharma industry is something to be proud of. Next only to the software industry in its achievements, this industry is now truly an internationally competitive one, now deriving more of its revenues from outside of India than inside. This has been possible through decades of arduous efforts, not least by technocrat-driven entrepreneurs and small & medium enterprises. The Indian patent laws - permitting reverse engineering of drugs patented elsewhere in the world, as long as they were manufactured using a non-patented process - undoubtedly was the platform on which much of this success has been built. But the industry can take credit for steadily moving up the value chain - from initial focus on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), on to finished formulations and to offering custom research & manufacturing services to western customers.
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