Centre gives in-principle approval for bulk drug park in Himachal's Una
Ambika Sharma
Solan, August 31
In a significant development, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers has finally granted in-principle approval for providing grant-in-aid for a bulk drug park proposed at Haroli tehsil in Una district.
The state government received a letter of approval from the ministry last evening and it has been directed to submit its detailed project report (DPR) to the project management agency, Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), within 90 days, as per the letter assessed by The Tribune.
The project would cost around Rs 350 crore and the Union Government will provide a grant-in-aid of Rs 100 crore. An investment of Rs 5,000 crore is expected for the medical devices park, which is likely to generate 10,000 jobs.
Once the DPR is submitted, its financial viability would be assessed by the ministry. Parameters like power, effluent treatment, water, steam, solid waste management, warehouse charges and park maintenance charges would have to be specified in the DPR.
Central assistance will help create common infrastructure facilities in the bulk drug park.
The Union Cabinet had approved schemes to set up three bulk drug parks in March 2020 to make active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates, which are pharma raw materials, over the next five years. As much as Rs 1,000 crore was announced for each park.
It is aimed at reducing dependence on China as nearly 65 per cent APIs are imported from there. Covid-induced disruptions in the supply chain had severally hit the pharma industry. This compelled the Union government to strengthen its domestic bulk drug production.
The scheme for promotion of bulk drug park is expected to result in incremental production of bulk drugs worth about Rs 46,400 crore. Though it was applicable for five years, more than two and a half years have been lost in completing initial formalities. The state government had submitted its approval in October 2020.
The government has set aside 1,400 acres of barren land at Polian Beet, Tibbian, Maluwal and Kutherbeet villages in the Haroli segment of Una district for the project.
There are 700 pharma formulation units in Himachal. The annual consumption of APIs ranges from Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 28,000 crore. The state accounts for one-third of the country’s medicines with 15 US Food and Drug Administration-approved units and 180 approved by the World Health Organisation are manufacturing medicines here.
Pharma exports from Himachal accounts for 7 to 8 per cent of the country’s export share and stood at Rs 5,400 crore in 2018-19.
The park was announced in 2017 by the then Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers during his visit to Baddi where it was initially planned and later shifted to Haroli owing to lack of land availability.
“The pharma industry was keenly awaiting setting up of this park as it would ease availability of APIs in the region and will further boost the pharma sector,” informed Rajesh Gupta, national head, Laghu Udyog Bharti.
