The government has stepped in to secure supplies of critical petrochemical inputs to the pharmaceutical sector, as disruptions in West Asia strain imports and global supply chains.
“Key inputs such as propylene, ammonia and methanol are being allocated on a pro-rata basis,” said Satyaprakash T.L., Joint Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals, outlining measures taken to ensure uninterrupted drug production.
The move comes after the conflict disrupted imports of petrochemical feedstock—earlier largely routed through Kandla—forcing a shift towards domestic sourcing. Indian refiners have reconfigured production lines to supply specialised feedstock to pharma companies.
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Domestic Pivot
“Propylene, the most critical feedstock, is being supplied from domestic refiners, including Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, and used to produce intermediates… for medicines like Ibuprofen,” he said.
Ammonia supplies from fertiliser units remain stable, while methanol availability—earlier flagged as a concern—is being supported by output from Assam Petrochemicals and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers & Chemicals, along with strengthened logistics.
Regulatory Relief
To ease cost pressures, the government has removed customs duty on 40 petrochemical products through an April 1 notification, helping improve input availability.
Despite the global disruption, domestic drug prices have remained largely stable, with officials indicating that no significant increase has been reported so far. Availability of key intermediates used in medicines such as Metformin and Aspirin is being closely monitored.
The government has also taken targeted steps to address bottlenecks. Quality control norms for morpholine have been temporarily relaxed to boost supply, while constraints in aluminium used for packaging are easing and expected to normalise shortly.
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Fuel supplies critical to pharmaceutical production remain steady. “No dry out has been reported, and LPG supply remains stable with over 51 lakh refills delivered yesterday,” said Sujata Sharma, adding that commercial LPG supply has been restored to about 70%, with nearly 1 lakh tonnes supplied since March 14.
Natural gas supply to fertiliser plants has also been increased to 95%, while city gas distribution companies are ensuring uninterrupted supply to priority sectors.
Officials said the government is coordinating closely across ministries to ensure continuity of supplies. The pharmaceutical sector’s dependence on petrochemical inputs has led to coordination between the ministries of petroleum, chemicals and fertilisers.
TOPICSpharmaThis article was first uploaded on April ten, twenty twenty-six, at five minutes past twelve in the am.