Govt issues scheme guidelines to boost drug manufacturing, medical devices

The objective is to make India self reliant in production of 53 critical Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, and in production of medical devices, for which India is crucially dependent on imports

The government on Monday released guidelines of four schemes for the development of bulk drug and medical device parks in the country to promote their domestic manufacturing.

"In line with the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the schemes have been conceptualised for making India 'Atmanirbhar' in the pharma sector," Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers D V Sadananda Gowda said.

The objective is to make India self reliant in production of 53 critical Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) or Key Starting Materials (KSMs), and in production of medical devices, for which India is crucially dependent on imports, he said in a series of tweets.

The schemes seek to reduce dependence of the country on the imports of critical APIs/ KSMs and medical devices, he added.

"The details of the schemes have been drawn up meticulously after having in depth consultations with stakeholders including industries and State Governments. The selection of their location will be based on objective criteria, and in spirit of competitive federalism," Gowda said in a tweet.

Similarly, eligible manufacturers will be selected for the PLI scheme on the basis of marks obtained in the evaluation criteria as per the guidelines, he added.

"Supported by both Central and State Governments, these parks will be based on plug and play model with prior regulatory approvals, state of art infrastructure, excellent connectivity, affordable land, competitive utility charges, and strong R & D ecosystem and so on," Gowda said.

This will significantly reduce time and investment cost for setting up new manufacturing units. In addition, new units will be eligible for Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme of the government, he added.

"I am sure that these schemes will elicit good response from interested companies. These parks will be able to attract significant investment as well as the latest technology," Gowda said.

Once operational, in about two to three years, these parks will generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs, reduce import dependency and make India a global pharmaceutical hub, he added.

The idea is also to cement India's position as global drug supplier. As already known, in spite of various odds, India supplied critical medicines such as hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol to number of countries on their requests, Gowda said.

"Currently valued at around USD 40 bn, pharma sector can reach USD 100 bn by 2024 given right support, and thus help achieve PM's goal of making India a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025. I am of a firm belief that these schemes will prove to be a turning point for the pharma industry," he added.