The Department of Pharmaceuticals has given ‘in-principle’ approval to the proposals of the three states —Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh—under the Scheme for ‘Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks’, an initiative to support drugs manufacturing in the country.
The scheme, notified in 2020 has a financial outlay of Rs 3,000 crores. It aims to provide financial assistance to three states for establishing Bulk Drug Parks and aims to bring down the cost of manufacturing bulk drugs by creating world-class common infrastructure facilities.
The financial assistance to the proposed Bulk Drug Park in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh would be 70% of the project cost of common infrastructure facilities. In case of Himachal Pradesh, being categorised as a ‘hilly state’, the financial assistance would be 90% of the project cost. Maximum assistance under the scheme for one Bulk Drug Park would be limited to Rs 1000 crores, said the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
As per the proposals submitted by these states, the Bulk Drugs will be established in 1402.44 acres of land at Tehsil Haroli, District Una, Himachal Pradesh, 2015.02 acres of land at Tehsil Jambusar, District Bharuch, Gujarat and 2000.45 acres of land at K.P. Puram &Kodhada of Thondagi Mandal of East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh. These three states were instructed to submit their Detailed Project Reports in the next 90 days, to appraise the same and to process for issuance of final approval under the scheme. Under the scheme, proposals were received from 13 States.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third largest in the world by volume. India exported pharmaceuticals, including Bulk Drugs and Drug Intermediates, worth Rs 1,75,040 crore in the Financial Year 2021-22. Also, India, a major producer of Active Pharma Ingredients (API) or bulk drugs, exported Bulk Drugs or Drug Intermediates worth Rs 33,320 crore in FY22. However, the country also imports various APIs for producing medicines from various countries. Most of the imports of the APIs being done in the country are because of economic considerations, the ministry statement added.
The Bulk Drug Parks to be developed under the scheme will provide common infrastructure facilities at one place thereby creating a robust ecosystem for the Bulk Drug manufacturing in the country and also reducing the manufacturing cost significantly.This scheme is expected to encourage domestic manufacturing of bulk drugs to reduce import dependence and to establish a dominant position in the global market by providing easy access to standard testing & infrastructure facilities. This scheme will also help industry meet the standards of environment at a reduced cost through innovative methods of common waste management system and also to exploit the benefits arising due to optimization of resources and economies of scale.
