Foundation stone laid for plastic engineering institute

Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of the Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) Centre to be set up in this industrial town.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was present on the occasion. The centre will be commissioned at a cost of over Rs.40 crore by next year.

Speaking on the occasion, Ananth Kumar said a major drug pharma park and satellite extension centre of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) would also be set up here.

"Baddi is a hub of pharmaceuticals as it contributes 35 percent of the total production of medicines in Asia," he said.

Virbhadra Singh said the state government had released Rs.50 lakh for creating infrastructure for the CIPET. A budgetary provision of Rs.2 crore has been made for this fiscal.

At present, CIPET is functioning temporarily on the premises of the Baddi Technical Training Institute here.

--IANS

vg/mr