Express Pharma

Trumping the Budget blues?

Perhaps the uncertainty of the Union Budget pales before the changes that US President Trump will make as he gets down to business in his second term

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Perhaps the uncertainty of the Union Budget pales before the changes that US President Trump will make as he gets down to business in his second term Even as industry braces for the impact of Union Budget 2026, there is a sense that Prime Minister Modi’s government makes announcements beyond the Budget. This could work both ways: additional funding or penalisation through more regulation or taxation. 

Either way, there are some who now prefer a ‘bland budget’ as it makes for a more stable and predictive environment, apart from giving lobby groups more time to present their case to/influence policy makers, away from the spotlight. 

Perhaps the uncertainty of the Union Budget pales before the changes that US President Trump will make as he gets down to business in his second term. He has already made big announcements (withdrawing funding to the WHO, pulling out of the Paris climate accord to name just two of them)

And while he has left the door open on resuming funding to the WHO, (“if they clean it up” as he put it in a rally in Las Vegas just days after his initial announcement) Trump 2.0 will clearly stick to his poll agenda of Make America Great Again (MAGA). Which is just another avatar of our very own Atmanirbhar Bharat. Let’s be fair, every national leader’s mandate is to put their people and nation first. 

However, there are times when leaders need to think of the world as a global village. For instance, climate change impacts all countries. Climate experts are correlating the Los Angeles wildfires of January to a decade of extreme drought, followed by two years of heavy rains, followed again by extremely dry ‘fire weather days’, which resulted in perfect conditions for wildfires to catch and spread. President Trump has another year before making good on his threat to leave the Paris agreement, so there is hope that he will reconsider his decision by then. 

Similarly, the COVID pandemic proved that viruses don’t respect country borders. Hoarding vaccines or preventing the export of certain equipment critical to make vaccines resulted in a prolonged battle against the virus. Countries which lacked the resources to make or buy vaccines were the last to be COVID free and remained a possible source of more virulent strains of the virus for longer than necessary.

Pharma leaders in India have been cautiously optimistic in their comments on Trump 2.0, choosing to focus on common goals. Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance points out that the relationship between India and the US has been growing from strength to strength over the years, Jain suggests that healthcare security and affordability are key priorities for the new Trump Administration. India and the US have an opportunity to collaborate in these areas to advance the healthcare agenda.

Highlighting the common goals, Jain says, “Together, India and the US recognise the importance of building a resilient and diversified pharma supply chain. India has already implemented the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for active pharmaceutical ingredients, and early results are promising. A synergistic effort from both countries can accelerate this initiative, strengthening self-reliance and enhancing healthcare security. As a supplier of quality-assured medicines, India plays a vital role in meeting the needs of the US and the global market.”

After three decades of tracking the pharma sector through Express Pharma and 24 years of spotlighting the healthcare sector through Express Healthcare, we add a new publication to our repertoire: Express Nutra. 

To be launched at the upcoming VitaFoods 2025 this February and HADSA Annual conference in March, Express Nutra will partner with multiple stakeholders, and surf the sangam of science, shifting demographics, consumer-driven health trends, and a lot more. As always, we remain open to readers’ suggestions on stories, trends, etc. we should be covering in all three of our publications and websites.

VIVEKA ROYCHOWDHURY, Editor 

[email protected] 

[email protected]

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