Haryana bets on healthcare manufacturing, offers aggressive incentive packages 

First, it built the nation’s cars. Then, it became the back office to the world. Now, Haryana is reaching for a third title — healthcare manufacturing giant.

The state that turned Gurugram into an auto-component powerhouse and an IT and global capability hub is now betting that the same belt can make medicines and medical devices that the country still largely imports. The vehicle for that ambition is the Haryana Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Manufacturing Policy-2026, a five-year framework notified in the state gazette on May 27 and launched alongside the umbrella ‘Make in Haryana Industrial Policy’ in Gurugram on June 1.

The numbers signal intent: at least Rs 10,000 crore in targeted investment and 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, with the stated aim of making Haryana a globally competitive hub for healthcare manufacturing.

The leap is built on a genuine gap. India is the world’s third-largest drug producer by volume but ranks only 11th by value. It still imports close to 80 per cent of its medical devices — including high-end diagnostics, imaging systems and implants — and relies on China for roughly 72 per cent of bulk drugs and intermediates. Haryana’s pitch is to claw back a share of that dependence, and to do it from a region that already understands healthcare from the patient’s end.

That existing strength is Gurugram’s edge. The city is home to some of the NCR’s largest private hospitals, diagnostic chains and a growing cluster of medtech and health-start-up offices. The policy’s promise is to add the production layer beneath that ecosystem — localising the very products the hospitals run on. The devices it covers read like a ward inventory: cardiac stents, heart valves, pacemakers, orthopaedic implants and intra-ocular lenses; syringes, catheters, dialysers and surgical disposables; ECG machines, ventilators, defibrillators and patient monitors; and imaging systems ranging from ultrasound to MRI.

To attract the manufacturers who make them, the state is offering one of its most aggressive incentive packages yet — reimbursement of up to 30 per cent of capital expenditure (capped at Rs 200 crore per unit) and operational support of up to 80 per cent for 10 years, along with funding for quality certifications, clinical trials and bioequivalence studies, patent commercialisation, dedicated parks, relocation grants and skilling tie-ups.

The industry has taken notice. The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) hailed the policy as possibly the most incentivising and progressive framework announced by any state in India, calling it a potential blueprint for the country’s healthcare manufacturing future. The body pointed out that while India already supplies 20 per cent of global generics and 60 per cent of vaccines, it still relies heavily on imports for bulk drugs and high-end medical devices — exactly the chasm the policy targets.

Framing the wider push, of which the pharma policy was one of nine sectoral frameworks unveiled, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said, “Make in Haryana is not merely an industrial policy. It is the roadmap for Haryana’s next phase of economic growth, built on competitiveness, innovation, sustainability, exports, employment generation and future-ready manufacturing.” Inviting global investors, he added: “Investing in Haryana means investing in the future.”

The ambition is clear; the execution is the open question. Where the promised manufacturing parks will actually come up — something the policy leaves unspecified — and how quickly Gurugram’s hospitals, labs and talent feed into production will determine whether Haryana’s third leap lands as solidly as its first two. The Tribune