Индия предложила российским производителям опиум для производства морфина

New Delhi: The Indian government has asked domestic drug manufacturers to identify exporters that can supply morphine raw material to sanctions-hit Russia after Moscow sought emergency supplies of the painkiller for battlefield and emergency medical care. According to two people familiar with the matter and a government communication reviewed by Mint, the department of pharmaceuticals has written to drug manufacturers, including through the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA), seeking details of companies capable of supplying morphine hydrochloride to Russia, which has been engaged in a prolonged war with Ukraine. The development highlights India's unique position in the global pharma supply chain as it is the world's largest legal producer of opium—the raw material used to manufacture morphine—a strong painkiller used for severe post-operative pain, cancer care, battlefield injuries, and emergency medicine. The country's pharmaceutical industry, valued at about $60 billion, supplies nearly 20% of the world's generic medicines by volume and ranks third globally by production volume. Within it, the specialized narcotic and controlled drugs segment is estimated at $15.32 billion, according to government data. Confirming the government's move, IDMA national president Viranchi Shah said the request had been sent to its 1,200 member companies. The association is compiling data on company names, facility locations, products, and existing export markets, to ensure compliance. “India is among a few countries globally with a legal cultivation framework for opium. Because of its clinical use in managing severe pain, such as for terminally ill cancer patients, the manufacturing, formulation, distribution, and export of morphine are strictly controlled under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act,” Shah said. Queries emailed to the Russian embassy in New Delhi, India’s ministries of external affairs and health and family welfare, department of pharmaceuticals, and Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) office remained unanswered till press time. Opium edge Morphine production and exports are among the most tightly regulated segments of India's pharmaceutical industry. Production is governed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, and annual quotas allocated by the INCB. India's Government Opium and Alkaloid Works has an exclusive mandate to process domestically produced raw opium into morphine for the Indian market. Private companies can import morphine raw materials under Rule 54 to manufacture formulations and export finished dosage forms, an industry executive said on condition of anonymity. “The domestic production chain flows from licensed poppy farming directly into raw opium and subsequent morphine processing, allowing the country to act as a net exporter of morphine active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and specialized morphine salts, primarily sulphate and hydrochloride," the person added. Strategic experts say Russia is facing a severe shortage of essential drugs due to sanctions by the EU, US, and other nations. "India is a trusted ally for Russia, which has not strategically aligned with the US on Russia, despite calling an end to the war. In this scenario, India remains a viable pathway for direct sourcing,” said Shweta Singh, associate professor, department of international relations, faculty of International Studies, South Asian University. “In conventional geopolitical terms, its partnership with Russia has an edge in terms of trusted allyship. However, given the Russia-China axis, India needs to rethink the template of interdependence with Russia, and the API hook is a step in that direction,” Singh added. Mint earlier reported on Russia looking to India for drug security at a time of shortages triggered by the war in Ukraine and proposed financial support for Indian companies ready to build pharmaceutical facilities in Russia. India exported medicines worth $449.67 million to Russia in 2025-26, a 10.92% increase from the previous year. This accounted for 1.82% of India’s total medicine exports in the last fiscal, according to commerce ministry data. Health experts say India's own morphine production remains underutilized despite its dominance in legal opium cultivation. “If legal farming of opium and production of morphine is better promoted and regulated, India can meet its domestic requirements and also potentially become a major exporter of morphine,” said Dr. Atul Ambekar, professor at the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.