Indian pharma, medical tourism affected amid Bangladesh political turmoil

The political unrest in Bangladesh that began last month with students demanding Sheikh Hasina's resignation and her subsequently fleeing the country, has disrupted India's pharmaceutical exports and medical tourism.

Pharmaceutical companies have been facing a plethora of issues such as blocked payments, lost consignments, among others. Indian medical tourism has suffered too, with patients from the affected region cancelling their travel plans abruptly or not being able to see through their travel plans due to the ongoing situation in the neighbouring country.

Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, told that Indian pharma companies are currently reluctant to ship items to Bangladesh over unpaid dues. "Due to the political unrest in Bangladesh, the Indian Pharmaceutical industry — which is into export of drugs and intermediates — has been facing significant challenges, including unpaid dues, concerns about the financial stability and logistics issues," Raja Bhanu, Director General, Pharmexcil, said.

Bhanu further said that Bangladesh being a neighbour with shared border has only contributed to worsening the situation, as shipments are getting stuck at the border. However, he added that there has been minor, but gradual improvement in the scenario.

Notably, India accounts for 30 percent of Bangladesh's pharmaceutical ingredient imports, which covers big pharma firms as well as small and medium ones. As per government data, exports to Bangladesh dwindled in FY 2024-25.

A Mumbai-based drugmaker said on conditions of anonymity that it is not taking new export orders to Bangladesh at the moment. It said, “While the condition is better now in terms of movement of shipments, we still haven’t been able to find out lost shipments costing several lakhs that went missing during the clashes. We are not taking any fresh export orders for Bangladesh till the situation goes back to normal.”

Ishan Dodhiwala, co-founder of Medijourn, another medical travel company, said, “The unrest in Bangladesh has undoubtedly affected the flow of patients to India for treatment. Some challenges have also arisen for healthcare providers and related services.''

On the whole, it is clear that the decrease in the number of people coming from Bangladesh for medical purpose has a strong impact on them.

Besides, the leaders of these companies are echoing hope. According to their statements, they have learned that the applications are being submitted to the Indian visa center. It is expected that more people will come from Bangladesh for treatment from next week.