The Central Government has made it clear that it intends to re-examine the feasibility of reviving public sector drug units so as to bring down and keep a check on prices of drugs in the country.
In a written reply to Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, in Lok Sabha on July 6, K Rahman Khan, minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers stated that the decision is in line with the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the government, which proposes the revival possibilities of all PSUs manufacturing critical bulk drugs.
There are five pharmaceutical PSUs namely, Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited (BCPL), Bengal Immunity Limited (BIL), Smith Stanistreet Pharmaceuticals Limited (SSPL), Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL) and Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL). In case of BIL, SSPL and IDPL, the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) has passed winding up orders. BIL and SSPL have been closed, the minister explained.
The case of IDPL is before the Appellate Authority of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (AAIFR). In case of BCPL, the BIFR has sanctioned the modified draft rehabilitation scheme. HAL is before the BIFR, he stated.