In a bid to boost the export of bulk drugs, the government of India is planning to bring some of the defunct active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) units into life. According to a report from The Economic Times, the government is planning to provide fiscal incentives and capital subsidy to the API units.
The move is aimed at capturing a substantial chunk of API space from China which is currently reeling under lack of trust post the outbreak of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
“China today controls 55 percent of API space in the world. With China facing quality issues, India can take a lead and plan big for exports,” a senior government official told the newspaper.
In addition to the API market, the commerce and industry ministry is also looking to pave its way into other markets such as electronics, furniture, medical textiles, among others. The ministry has already asked industry experts to chalk out strategies to capture these markets, the officials said.
Although the government has rolled out certain key measures such as sanctioning Rs 10,000 crore incentive scheme to set up bulk drug parks, industry experts are of the opinion that revival of old APIs are the only way forward in the short term.
“I firmly believe that there is no dearth of talent, entrepreneurial spirit, technology, automation and other ingredients of manufacturing API, including intermediates, in India,” Dinesh Dua, chairman of Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) that functions under the commerce and industry ministry said.
“Fiscal incentives in terms of capital subsidy, capex, with two years moratorium and three years interest-free EMIs (can motivate API entrepreneurs),” Dua said
“As already announced by the government of India, an incremental incentive may be provided for all 53 KSMs (key starting material, which are building blocks for APIs) and APIs for which we are vulnerably dependent on imports,” Dua added.
India is looking at taking significant steps in order to boost domestic API production and is taking huge strides to not only reduce its dependence on China but also to be a hub in bulk drugs.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
