Access to affordable medicines remains a major public health concern in India. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies need sustained investment to develop new treatments, improve existing therapies and respond to emerging diseases. Balancing these priorities is a difficult policy challenge. Medicines must remain accessible to patients, while businesses need a viable framework for research, clinical trials and commercial development. The debate is often presented as a choice between lower medicine prices and stronger pharmaceutical innovation. In practice, the two objectives are closely connected. A healthcare system needs affordable treatments today, as well as investment in the medicines patients may need tomorrow. The real question is how public policy can support both without placing an unreasonable burden on patients or undermining incentives for research. India’s pharmaceutical sector makes this issue particularly important. The country supplies generic medicines to domestic a...