Government to launch schemes to strengthen pharma industry
In order to further enhance India’s existing manufacturing prowess in the Pharmaceuticals Industry, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India is planning to launch a series of initiatives under the banner of Schemes for ‘Strengthening Pharmaceuticals Industry’ (SPI). Keeping in view the strategic role of MSMEs, who provide important forward and backward linkages to the industry, and also keeping in view that MSMEs tend to grow in clusters, these schemes shall address the issues of technology upgradation at both unit level and cluster level.
Besides, to strengthen the supply chain of Pharmaceuticals industry where MSMEs are an integral part, Government of India shall be incentivizing the intending MSME units going in for acquiring Schedule M certification or WHO GMP Certification through the sub-scheme Pharmaceuticals Industry Technology Upgradation Assistance Scheme (PTUAS). The MSME unit shall have the option to choose from either Capital subsidy or Interest subvention.
At the cluster level, the sub-scheme ‘Assistance to Pharmaceuticals Industry for Common Facilities’ (APICF) envisages to support creation of common facilities like Testing Labs, Common Effluent Treatment plants and other such common facilities by providing Government support in the form of capital grant to the extent of up to 70 per cent subject to a ceiling of a maximum of Rs. 20 crore. In order to plug the knowledge gap, the third sub-scheme proposes to conduct a series of awareness programs, conduct sectoral studies and organize similar such programs to generate soft inputs for policy advocacy.