Indian civilization developed a strong system of traditional medicine and was one of the first nations to develop a synthetic drug. In the post independence era, Indian pharmaceutical industry developed a strong base for production of generic drugs. Challenges for the future are to give its traditional medicine a strong scientific base and develop research and clinical capability to consistently produce new drugs based on advances in modern biological sciences. Indian civilization is one of the few in the world that developed a full- fledged system of traditional medicine. The approach of Indian traditional medicine, e.g., the ayurvedic system, is herbal based in general and is more effective for chronic diseases and prevention. Although modern medicine has found its own niche in India, traditional formulations are still widely used, and more and more scientifically validated formulations are appearing in the market. In recent times, many plants used in Indian system of medicine have been analyzed by modern analytical methods and active components have been isolated. Significant amount of medicinal chemistry efforts are going on around these molecules in an attempt to develop more potent leads. These include curcumin from turmeric,1 Bacosides from Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri),2 and Forskolin from Coleus forskohlii. The first modern synthetic drug to be developed in India was Urea Stibamine in 1922 by UN Brahmachari against visceral leishmaniasis.3 Visceral leishmaniasis was a severe health burden during the early part of the 20th century, and it was a lifesaving drug for a large section of the population. Historically, it was the second drug developed against an infectious disease after Salversan (against Syphillis) and well before penicillin or sulfa drugs. It is still in use in many countries in a modified form. Keywords: Medicine ,vaccine, History, Invention, Pharmacology