Bulk Drugs PLI Scheme Draws ₹5,210.74 Crore Investment as 39 API/KSM Projects Are Commissioned, Including Aurobindo's ₹2,270 Crore Penicillin G Plant in Kakinada
The Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, has released an update on the PLI scheme for bulk drugs. As of June 2026, ₹5,210.74 crore has been invested. A total of 39 projects for manufacturing 28 active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials (APIs/KSMs) have been commissioned. The government approved the scheme in 2020 with an outlay of ₹6,940 crore.
Five greenfield facilities have been commissioned under the scheme. They cover ingredients for antibiotics, cardiovascular medicines and paracetamol.
Lyfius Pharma Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, has set up a Penicillin G manufacturing facility at Kakinada SEZ in Andhra Pradesh. The investment is ₹2,270.05 crore and installed capacity is 15,000 MT per annum. Kinvan Pvt Ltd, a DPB Group company, has set up a 400 MT per annum fermentation-based Clavulanic Acid (Potassium Clavulanate) facility at Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh. The investment is ₹504.68 crore. The government describes it as the country's first fermentation-based plant for this product.
Andhra Organics Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Virchow Laboratories Ltd, has commissioned facilities for Sulfadiazine, Telmisartan and Olmesartan at Pydibhimavaram, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh. The combined investment is ₹151.47 crore. Meghmani LLP has set up a 13,500 MT per annum para amino phenol facility at Dahej, Gujarat, with an investment of ₹60.46 crore. Centrient Pharmaceuticals India Pvt Ltd has set up a 206 MT per annum Atorvastatin API facility at Nawanshahr, Punjab, with an investment of ₹161.13 crore.
The bulk drugs scheme has generated 5,127 jobs as of June 2026. The separate PLI scheme for pharmaceuticals, approved in 2021 with an outlay of ₹15,000 crore, has drawn ₹46,744 crore of actual investment. It covers 55 selected applicants, including 20 MSMEs.
