Gujarat: With over 300 projects, pharmaceutical industry to get a boost

  • | Wednesday | 21st August, 2019

Over 300 projects to manufacture medicines and other pharmaceutical products are coming up in the state, said a top state official. This will help the state increase its share in the country's pharmaceutical manufacturing from around 33% at present to 40% in a few years. "Earlier, the state's share was over 40% in the country's pharmaceutical production. Industry players say that if China stops the supply of these materials to India, local production of medicines will come to a virtual standstill. "The central government is aware of the issue and a committee has been formed to create a roadmap to decrease the reliance on imported APIs and other raw materials," he said.

Over 300 projects to manufacture medicines and other pharmaceutical products are coming up in the state, said a top state official. This will help the state increase its share in the country's pharmaceutical manufacturing from around 33% at present to 40% in a few years. He also said that efforts are on to increase the country's capacity to produce bulk drugs that are used as raw materials for making medicines for long-term strategic interest of the country. Talking to media persons on the sidelines of PharmaTech Expo that began on Tuesday in the city, HG Koshia, commissioner of Food and Drug Control Authority (FDCA) in Gujarat said that the state is reemerging as the most preferred hub for the pharmaceutical sector. "Earlier, the state's share was over 40% in the country's pharmaceutical production. However, because of the tax concessions in certain less developed states, its share dropped to 28%. After expiry of tax concessions and the roll-out of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the advantage of tax heavens as gone and a uniform taxation regime has been established in the country. So pharmaceutical companies are coming back to the state," said Koshia. He informed that the applications to set up new units have started pouring in at FDCA. "We have received around 300 applications. We are getting 4-5 applications every week. These projects are likely to be commissioned in 18-24 months," he said. These are a mix of small and large projects. A small project has the capacity to provide over 100 direct jobs. The Vision This will help the state increase its share in the country’s pharmaceutical manufacturing from around 33% to 40% in a few years State has about 33% share in $ 35 billion strong Indian pharmaceutical industry While India is a global leader in the manufacturing of generic medicines, close to 80% of the raw materials – called Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and Key Starting Material (KSM) — are imported, mostly from China. Industry players say that if China stops the supply of these materials to India, local production of medicines will come to a virtual standstill. "The central government is aware of the issue and a committee has been formed to create a roadmap to decrease the reliance on imported APIs and other raw materials," he said.

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