Experts from the pharmaceutical industry in India have advocated for the Russian government to substitute their current supply of European and U.S.-manufactured medications with equivalent products produced in India, a prominent nation in South Asia.
The remarks by Dr. Yatish Sharma, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company based in the city of Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and I.R. Sekhar Rao, the managing director of Vance & Health, came during the Russia-India Business Forum in Moscow on Wednesday.
India Offers Massive Discount Pharma Products
According to Sharma, India has cheap and skilled labor, good scientists and all the other ingredients to make pharmaceutical products.
Sharma added that India, the world's most populous country, has to have a good healthcare infrastructure.
"For that reason, we have a lot of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. We are No.1 in the generic pharmaceutical division in the world and second in the overall production of pharmaceutical products on the planet," Sharma told Sputnik on the sidelines of the forum in the Russian capital.
Sharma emphasized that India offers a price advantage, with costs 60% lower than those in the US and 50% lower than in European countries. This reason makes it essential for Russian pharmaceutical buyers to procure from India.
'Brothers India-Russia' Should Come Together
When asked why Russia should cooperate with India in the field of pharmaceuticals, he replied that Indians and Russians are brothers.
So we should work together as brothers. Another thing is that the two countries are very closely connected by culture, by distance.
"Hence, we can immediately supply medicine, and surgical devices at a 50% cheaper price than Europe and 60% cheaper than the US," Sharma asserted.
In addition, he highlighted the fact that the Indian and Russian governments currently engage in trade using their respective currencies, the ruble and INR. This signifies that there is no longer a necessity to make payments in US dollars or euros. This is the second most important point that both sovereign states can do business in their national currencies.
India - World's Pharmacy Capital
Meanwhile, Rao said that out of every three pills made in the world, one pill is made in India. Perhaps that's why India is known as the pharmacy capital of the world.
"So, India can definitely replace, to a great extent, the European market, European manufacturers in Russia. Also, in the US, Indian generic medicines sell more than American generics. So, India has phenomenal scope in this sector," he told Sputnik India in an interview.
Dmitry Prokhorenko, the Director for Foreign Network Development at the Russian Export Center (REC) JSC, disclosed that his institution, which supports non-commodity exports, has received an overwhelming 600+ requests from Russian companies seeking assistance to establish their businesses in India.
Russian Companies Flock to India
He noted that the REC helped 400 Russian companies enter the Indian market last year.
Prokhorenko noted that the development of business ties with India is gaining popularity in Russia. For example, agro-industrial and food products are the most popular areas of cooperation with India.
"Grain, pulses, oil - this is what we supply regularly to India. But apart from that, there is a shortage of energy in India. We are actively cooperating in the field of peaceful atomic research," he said.
Among other things, Prokhorenko revealed that the Indians have shown interest in heavy engineering: mining equipment and railway locomotives. Recently, there have been many requests from Indians for green technologies and chemical products, including fertilizers.
"Now, with 'Invest India', we will launch a series of seminars in the opposite direction, we will tell Indian companies about the ways of doing business with Russian companies," he emphasized.
Other Areas of Collaboration on the Agenda
Like Prokhorenko, Olga Kulikova, Russia's economic ambassador to India, shared her views on the growing trade partnership between India and Russia.
She noted that many industrialists want to enter Russia or find Russian partners. However, not all industries can do this. That is why everyone is now talking about pharmacology, which is a topic of great interest.
"Food products such as oats, spices, and fruits are also on the agenda. But I think there is great potential in engineering, machine tools and transport," she concludes.