Punjab making strides in pharma sector: Governor

Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria addressed the closing ceremony of 18th Punjab International Trade Expo at Amritsar today. He also announced the setting up of a ‘Bulk Drug Pharma Park’ in Bathinda, to give a boost to the pharma industry in state. “Punjab is a rapidly emerging state in the field of pharmaceuticals. Here, with the support of the Central Government, a ‘Bulk Drug Pharma Park’ is being developed in Bathinda on 1,300 acres of land at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore. The park will position Punjab as a leading state in the pharmaceutical sector,” said Kataria.

Kataria said more involvement of doctors, traders and businessmen in expo events can further expand its scope. The Governor said that health tourism has increased in Punjab in the last few years. National spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party, Shehzad Poonawalla, who attended the conclave, said that the confluence of disease-free and healthy is health and wellness. He said that during the last 10 years, the entire focus of the Government of India is towards wellness. He said that today, 1.5 lakh Arogya Mandirs (wellness centres) are being run in the country. “Before the year 2012, there were only seven AIIMS in the country, whereas today their number has increased to 25. In the year 2012, while the number of health startups in the country was only 350, today their number has increased to 11,620,” said Poonawalla.

Karan Gilhotra, Chair, Punjab Chapter of PHDCCI, while thanking the guests, said that in future, the scope of such conclaves will be increased and expanded.