TeamLease foresees that there is a positive wave sweeping across the hiring space in the pharmaceuticals sector in the country. There is acceleration driven at the back of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘ambitious 'Make in India’ initiative which is a catalyst to invest particularly for the global pharma companies.

The key vacancies are seen in the departments of research, production, quality control, regulatory patent and intellectual property. In addition, clinical research organisations (CROs) are also beginning to start hiring in a phased manner which is far better compared to last year. Particularly, sales force hiring has seen an average of 20 to 25 per cent increase, Hussain Tinwala, general manager, TeamLease Services, told Pharmabiz.

India is viewed as a highly lucrative emerging market for international companies and its position to garner much of the investments from abroad is becoming increasingly important.

The recruitment pace is up by 10 per cent over the previous year and particularly the last few months there has been a considerable momentum. The hiring is envisaged not just in research but in manufacturing, quality assurance, regulatory and marketing, he added.

While attrition in the pharma industry is reported to anywhere between 25 to 30 per cent, we are seeing a backfill or replacement of staff of 20-25 per cent. There is still a 5 per cent gap which clearly indicates suitable job vacancies exist, Tinwala noted.

The multinational companies have started investing into research and development. The focus is on innovation from India. Global pharma intends to capitalise not just cost benefits but maximise the resonance of ‘Make in India’ and utilise the high quality educated workforce. Therefore, we see an uptick in investments and particularly India is the focus for global pharma to drive drug development and contract research.

For instance in September end, Abbott announced its intention to invest heavily into India for research and development besides expand operations at its production plants to cater to both domestic and international markets.

It is difficult to ignore the huge scientific talent armed with expertise and experience to drive these research projects, he pointed out.

In fact, global pharma majors are upbeat about India because of the qualified workforce and the patient pool to drive business and revenues.

Further, the ‘Make in India’ pitch is wooing prospective investors to look at India in the emerging market region. Particularly in the pharma space, we see healthy growth ensuing in the coming quarters. There is impetus for better growth from a business perspective and this has stimulated the hiring process too. Moreover, with the expansion of medical insurance, pharma majors are recruiting sales force to drive revenues, stated Tinwala.