Shri Amit Agrawal, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers delivered a special address during the inaugural session of the Rare Diseases Conference 2025 at FICCI Auditorium yesterday.

The Conference was organized on the theme “Making Rare Care Possible: Availability, Accessibility, Awareness.”

In his address, Shri Agrawal commended the organisers for bringing focus to an issue of growing significance that has historically not received adequate attention.

He underlined that although rare diseases may appear infrequent individually, collectively they affect nearly one in every twenty individuals—around 5% of the population—making them a major public health concern.

He emphasized that the rare disease challenge should be seen through a human lens and as a question of inclusion, not merely a medical or technical problem.

Highlighting significant policy measures, the Secretary informed that Rare Diseases were included as a focus area under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Pharmaceuticals.

As a result, eight drugs for rare conditions have been supported, including Eliglustat for Gaucher’s Disease, where the cost of treatment has come down from ₹1.8–3.6 crore annually to ₹3–6 lakh.