'Pharma cos must comply with deadline to upgrade staff skills'

The pharmaceutical industry must treat as sacrosanct the January 1, 2018 deadline issued by the Drug Controller General of India for upgrading skillsets of its employees, an official said.
The domestic pharma sector cannot compromise on quality of its staff, said Ranjit Madan, Chief Executive Officer, Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council (LSSSDC), set up under the auspices of the Ministry of Skill Development.
In August 2016, the Drug Controller General of India had issued a circular stipulating the deadline of January 1, 2018.
"The developed countries have a very high rate of skill sets. As the low rate outweighs... The other factors in the economy, we cannot compromise on the same," Madan said while speaking at the launch of a skill development project in Maharashtra.

LSSSDC has mandated Pollux Life Science Solutions LLP to conduct broad based skilling in the state, which begins at pharmacy undergraduate level and concludes with job specific theory and practical training of 10 prominent roles that cover 90 per cent of the functions in pharma business.
The industry-ready, employable resource will not only bring down the training cost for companies by providing job ready pharmacy graduates but also lower unproductive lead time during initial employment period.

This will help companies hire the right person, matching the right job profile that will lead to significant reduction in attrition rate, Pollux Life Science Managing Partner Hemant Deshpande said.

Speaking at the panel discussion, K Bangarurajan, Deputy Drug Controller, West Zone said, "India exports USD 17 billion worth of pharmaceutical drugs and one out two medicines consumed globally is by India."
"The country also produces 50,000 pharma graduates every year of which 7,000 are from Maharashtra. However, in 2016, 136 warning letters on export alert were issued around the globe and India accounted for 27 per cent of the same, which threatens to cut the revenue growth and needs to be addressed through training programs," he added.