Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers

Start with the right scheme

Most schemes on this page are for manufacturers, state governments or industry bodies. Check the 'Who can apply' line in each entry before you plan around one.

• Medical device manufacturers: the medical device production-linked incentive, and the medical device industry scheme's calls for proposals.
• Pharmaceutical manufacturers: the pharmaceutical production-linked incentive. MSMEs registered with the Ministry of MSME may fit its sub-group.
• New plants for key starting materials, drug intermediates or active pharmaceutical ingredients: the bulk drugs production-linked incentive.
• State governments planning chemical parks: BHAVYA Rasayan.
• Industry associations and similar bodies: the chemicals promotion grants.

Check the window first

Windows change, and this page does not confirm the current one for every scheme. Check the department's scheme listing before you draft anything. Medical device calls were issued in June and July 2026, and BHAVYA Rasayan proposals are due by 30 November 2026. The market development assistance is closed.

How applications work

• Medical device and pharmaceutical schemes: online, through a portal run by a project management agency.
• BHAVYA Rasayan: physical copies in triplicate and a soft copy on a pen drive or CD, in a sealed envelope, sent to the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals.
• Chemicals promotion grants: a web-based application, integrated with the NGO-DARPAN portal for grants-in-aid.

What the schemes look for

• Medical device scheme: committed investment and incremental sales.
• Bulk drugs scheme: a greenfield project making eligible products.
• Production-linked schemes: eligible products made in India.

The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers is a Union government ministry that oversees three departments: Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Fertilizers, and Pharmaceuticals. Its schemes cover production-linked incentives for manufacturers, market support for organic fertilisers, and grants to industry bodies. Most are aimed at manufacturers, state governments or industry organisations rather than early-stage founders, so each entry on this page says who it is for.

Who runs it

The ministry is headed by a Cabinet Minister, who is assisted by a Minister of State. The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals was part of the Ministry of Industry until 1989, when it moved to the Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals. It joined the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers on 5 June 1991.

The Department of Fertilizers also sits under the ministry. The Department of Pharmaceuticals, which runs the medical device and pharmaceutical incentive schemes, publishes its pages under the ministry's name. The chemicals division has run the Chemical Promotion Development Scheme since 1997, and the scheme was revised in 2017 and 2019.

How the schemes work

Three schemes on this page are production-linked incentives. These are financial incentives to boost domestic manufacturing. They cover medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and key starting materials, drug intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Eligibility under the medical device scheme depends on committed investment and incremental sales, and the product must be made in India. The bulk drugs scheme gives incentives based on committed investment and sales of eligible products made by selected applicants.

The medical device and pharmaceutical schemes take applications through an online portal run by a project management agency. The other schemes on this page use their own routes, which are set out in each entry below.

Who can apply

Medical device applicants must be manufacturers of eligible products made in India. The pharmaceutical scheme places applicants in one of three groups, set by criteria in its guidelines, and one group includes a sub-group for MSMEs registered with the Ministry of MSME. The bulk drugs scheme is open to proprietary firms, partnerships, LLPs and companies registered in India that plan a greenfield project.

The market development assistance was open to manufacturing-cum-marketing entities under the GOBARDHAN initiative, including biogas (CBG) operators, and to fertiliser companies that market organic fertilisers. That provision has closed.

Grants under the chemicals promotion scheme go to industry associations and other organisations, not to individual founders. The BHAVYA Rasayan scheme is for state governments, which propose dedicated chemical parks. Individual founders cannot apply to it.

Timelines

Some schemes have fixed periods, and the dates matter. The market development assistance ran for three years, from FY 2023-24 to FY 2025-26, and is closed. The medical device scheme's tenure runs from FY 2020-21 to FY 2027-28. The pharmaceutical scheme's guidelines state a tenure from FY 2020-21 to FY 2028-29, but published summaries give a shorter incentive period, so check the guidelines before planning around either date.

Calls for proposals under the medical device industry scheme were issued in June and July 2026, with a revised notice in late July. States' proposals for BHAVYA Rasayan are due by 30 November 2026. For the bulk drugs scheme, check the department's scheme listing for whether an application window is open.

Scale

The chemicals department says it has approved 10 Plastic Parks and 18 Centres of Excellence to date. Neither count is dated. Neither page states how a founder would apply.

Locations

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals is at Kartavya Bhawan-II, Room No. 23049, 3rd Floor, New Delhi 110001. BHAVYA Rasayan proposals are sent there as physical copies, with a soft copy in a sealed envelope.