India’s FTAs creating new opportunities for pharma, healthcare and medical technology sectors: Goyal

10 Mar 2026 Evaluate

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are creating new opportunities for the pharmaceutical, healthcare and medical technology sectors, while enabling the country to strengthen its position in global trade. He said in the recent years, India has finalised FTAs with the UK, Mauritius, Australia, the US, European Union, four-nation bloc EFTA, Oman, the UAE and New Zealand. He noted that while the pacts with Mauritius, Australia, the UAE and EFTA are implemented, the remaining are likely to come into force soon. As a result, nearly two-thirds of global trade is now open to India.  

He said that these agreements provide India with preferential access compared to many other countries, with lower duties and expanded market opportunities, thereby opening new avenues to enhance trade. He said the scale of India’s trade with the world in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors is now greater than ever before. He suggested the industry to focus on taking greater advantage of these pacts and developing a strong healthcare ecosystem. He said ‘we need to develop a comprehensive, holistic and integrated healthcare system’. He added that FTA negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council and Eurasia are progressing well.  

Highlighting the importance of digital health and emerging technologies, he said that Artificial Intelligence and digital health integration are receiving increasing global attention. He said that Artificial Intelligence should not be viewed with apprehension but should instead be adopted as an enabling technology. He noted that India possesses the talent to develop advanced applied technologies and AI-driven solutions. These technologies can be used to promote telemedicine and improve diagnostics, helping to deliver better healthcare services to India’s population of 1.4 billion people.


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