Govt finalising guidelines for setting up bulk drug, medical devices parks in India

New Delhi: Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilisers DV Sadananda Gowda has said that the Department of Pharmaceuticals is finalising the guidelines which will form the basis for objectively selecting locations of upcoming three bulk drugs parks and four medical devices parks in the country.

A press release issued from the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers said that the Finance Minister of Punjab Manpreet Singh Badal met Gowda in New Delhi on Monday and handed over a request letter to the Minister for considering setting up of one of the proposed bulk drug parks in Bhatinda in the state of Punjab. And Gowda thanked Badal for showing interest in extending support for the development of parks.

Speaking on the occasion, Badal said that the location at Bhatinda has good connectivity, water, and land availability, and the state already has the presence of some of the biggest USFDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved pharmaceutical companies and pharma institutes like NIPER, IISER, AIIMS, among others.

In order to encourage domestic production of critical APIs/ KSM and medical devices, Union Cabinet had approved on March 12 a scheme for the development of three bulk drug parks and four medical devices parks. The government will extend grants-in-aid to states with a maximum limit of Rs 1,000 crore per bulk drug park and Rs 100 crore per medical device parks.

In addition, the government had also announced a production-linked incentive scheme for promoting domestic manufacturing of key critical starting materials/drug intermediates & APIs and medical devices across the country. The total financial implications of these schemes would be about Rs 13,760 crore. The scheme for promotion of bulk drug parks is expected to result in incremental production of bulk drugs worth about Rs 46,400 crore, while the scheme for promotion of medical device parks will lead to incremental production of medical devices worth about Rs 68,437 crore. These schemes will also result in a significant generation of jobs.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Telegram. Join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram and stay updated)