Post-independence, the pharmacy profession and education have undergone a sea change as a provider of healthcare services in India. Time was when we inherited the system of pharmacy profession from the British rulers that was practically nonexisting. In 1932, Prof. M. L. Scroff upon invitation by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviyaji, the then Vice-Chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University, started a 3-year regular bachelor of pharmacy course. Presently, the pharmacy education in India consists of a variety of courses, namely Diploma in Pharmacy, Bachelor of Pharmacy, Master of Pharmacy, Master of Science in Pharmacy, Master of Technology in Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy, and Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacy. Recently, newer specialized subjects such as pharmacy practice, quality assurance, industrial pharmacy, pharmaceutical biotechnology, clinical pharmacy, drug regulatory affairs, bioinformatics, etc. have been introduced in the postgraduation level. Although there is a growing strength of pharmacy workforce in our country, the curriculum still fails to meet the international standards. To promote excellence and uniformity in pharmacy education, the Pharmacy Council of India has formed a national taskforce for quality assurance. With growing government investments toward development of infrastructure and research facilities, India can provide a strong workforce in the global front.
Currently, the pharmaceutical industry is also undergoing unprecedented changes. The introduction of product patent regime in 2005 has led to the return of pharmaceutical multinationals to India. Rather than copying the original preparation of foreign companies and producing generics by means of alternative production procedure, the Indian pharma industry is now focusing on drugs developed in-house, contract research, contract production, and particularly in the conduct of clinical trials for western drug market. Currently the most important segment on the domestic market is anti-infectives which accounts for one quarter of the total turnover. The lifestyle drug segment will fuel the growth of India's pharmaceutical industry which includes antidiabetics, antiulcer, antidepressants, cardiovascular, antihypertensive, and drugs needed for Alzheimer's disease, osteoarthritis, cancer, etc. Currently, the Indian industries are facing tough competition from domestic generic markets and other low-cost drug producing countries, particularly Israel, China, Korea, and those from East Europe. With its enormous advantages, including a large, well-educated, skilled and English-speaking workforce, low operational costs, and improving regulatory infrastructure, India has the potential to become the region's hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnological discovery research, manufacturing, exporting, and healthcare services within the next decade.