HLL completes 15 years in public healthcare retail; 4,500 pharmacist jobs expected by next year

Trivandrum / September 24, 2026

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept. 24: HLL Lifecare Limited, a Miniratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, will be expanding its pharmacy network across the country as part of its retail public health services.

The expansion will see the number of pharmacy outlets under the network going up to 600 within next year and the number of pharmacists to 4,500.

Starting its public health retail journey with an outlet at the Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram on 26 September 2011, the HLL’s retail service is completing 15 years of operations on September 26, coinciding with the World Pharmacists Day.

HLL’s retail operations currently engage 2000 pharmacists, including 863 women pharmacists, who serve patients across the country. As HLL expands its pharmacy network to around 600 outlets within the next year, the number of pharmacists is expected to grow significantly and could reach around 4,500. The expansion will also create opportunities for more pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to join HLL’s growing public-health retail network.

Starting its journey as a single outlet has today grown into a national pharmacy network of more than 300 outlets across India.

There are around 20 HLL Pharmacy and Surgicals, while the total number of HLL Retail Pharmacy Centres stands at 340.

The journey began with the opening of a Lifecare Centre (LCC) at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, on 26 September 2011. The outlet was subsequently renamed HLL Pharmacy and Surgicals, and marked HLL’s first step into retail healthcare, with a focus on making essential medicines, medical devices, implants and other healthcare products accessible and affordable to people.

What started as a single retail outlet has today grown into a national pharmacy network of more than 300 outlets across India.

The milestone comes alongside World Pharmacists Day, observed on September 25, which recognises the important role pharmacists play in making medicines accessible and supporting patients.

The 2026 World Pharmacy Day theme, “Empowering pharmacists for healthier futures,” reflects the important role pharmacists play in healthcare.

Over the years, HLL has expanded its retail healthcare services through HLL Pharmacy, Free Generic Stores, HLL Opticals, AMRIT Pharmacy and AMRIT Opticals. HLL Opticals makes premium eyewear from leading brands accessible to the general public at affordable prices. It provides quality eyeglasses and lenses to ordinary people at reasonable and cost-effective prices.

A major chapter in HLL’s retail journey began in 2015, when HLL took up the implementation of AMRIT – Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment – an initiative of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. AMRIT aims to provide affordable medicines for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and other serious illnesses. It offers more than 6500 drugs, implants, surgical disposables and other consumables at average discounts up to 50% of Maximum Retail Price (MRP).

The first AMRIT Pharmacy was opened at AIIMS, New Delhi, in November 2015. Today there are 285 AMRIT outlets across 24 states and 4 Union Territories.

Since its inception, AMRIT has served more than 8.13 crore patients. Medicines and healthcare products with an MRP value of around Rs 22,323 crore have been dispensed through the network, generating cumulative savings of approximately Rs 10,969 crore for patients and helping reduce their out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure.

“For HLL, retail is not simply about selling medicines. It is about making essential healthcare more accessible and affordable to people. What began with one ‘HLL Pharmacy’ at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College has grown into a much wider public-health retail network. Pharmacists are an important part of this journey. They are often among the healthcare professionals closest to patients when they need medicines and guidance, and play an important role in ensuring that medicines are available safely, reliably and affordably. As we expand, we look forward to taking this commitment to more communities across the country,” said Shri Benny Joseph, Director (Technical & Operations), HLL Lifecare Limited.

HLL’s retail expansion continues through partnerships with Central and State Government PSUs, including the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Coal India Limited (CIL), and Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), as well as government hospitals, port trust hospitals, medical colleges, and other public healthcare institutions. With the pharmacy network set to expand further, HLL aims to take affordable medicines and healthcare products to more people, including those in the remotest parts of the country.

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