Indian pharma industry become the world's largest and most developed pharmaceutical industry, including being the top exporter of generic medicines in the world, exporting medicines worth Rs. 50,000 crore, annually. India exports to over 200 countries worldwide, including to highly regulated markets like US, Europe, Japan and Australia. In 2009, India exported $8 billion worth of drugs, mainly to the US and Europe, followed by Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry has shown tremendous progress in infrastructural development, technologically, in human resources and in its wide range of products. Not only has it established its presence, it has also shown immense determination to flourish in a changing environment. In terms of volume, India's pharmaceutical industry now ranks 3rd in the world and 14th in terms of value, producing bulk drugs from all major therapeutic groups that require complicated manufacturing technologies.

The industry produces formulations in various dosage forms in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and WHO compliant facilities in India, made possible by strong scientific and technical work force, including pioneering work in process development. Besides, the Department of Pharmaceuticals is working on the vision that by 2020, India will be one of the top five global pharmaceutical innovation hubs.

The term generic describes products, particularly drugs that do not carry a trademark, such as, paracetamol, a chemical ingredient found in many branded painkillers, but often sold as a generic medicine on its own.