The central government is making efforts to give its final approval to the much delayed Rs 441-crore proposal to revive the ailing PSU pharma unit Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (IDPL).The government may not form another Group of Ministers (GoM) for the purpose which can further delay a decision on this issue, it is learnt.
According to senior officials close to the development, two distinct possibilities are now clearly emerging on the issue which has been lying in limbo for a long time now. One, since the government wanted to put the IDPL issue on the fast track, it does not intend to waste further time by forming another GOM. In such a scenario the cabinet may give its final nod to the proposal after cobbling up a consensus in the cabinet. That the IDPL revival plan has been accorded a priority status by the government is evident from the fact that the issue has been included in the 100-day programme of the central government.
If the government fails to come up with a consensus among the cabinet ministers on the issue, it may form another Group of Ministers (GoM) to discuss the issue further in detail in consultation with various stakeholders. In such a scenario, a decision to the issue will be further delayed.
The department of pharmaceuticals is vigorously pursuing the issue which is now lying with the cabinet secretary. It will be presented in the next union cabinet meeting to take a final call, sources said.
IDPL is one of the four public sector pharma units in the country which was declared as sick way back in 1992 by the Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). The revival package was formulated and approved by BIFR in February 1994. The Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) recommended the present scheme for approval of the government.
The revival package was placed before the cabinet which considered the proposal at its meeting on May 17, 2007. As there was no consensus on the issue, it was referred to a group of ministers (GoM) for consideration. The GoM under AK Antony was constituted on June 1, 2007 and the first meeting was held on October 11, 2007. Other members of the panel were P Chidambaram, Ramvilas Paswan, Anbumani Ramadoss, Oscar Fernandes and Santosh Mohan Dev.
But, after the announcement of general elections in March this year, Antony referred the matter to the next government mainly due to the resignation of two of the members, health minister Anbumani Ramadoss and labour minister Oscar Fernandes as Antony does not want the curtailed GoM to take any vital decision.
An early clearance of the revival scheme is very important as it has the social obligation to manufacture and produce life-saving drugs at a reasonable price whereas the private companies have no such obligation to the general public. IDPL is also expected to play a key role in supplying drugs to the generic drug stores (Jan Aushadhis) being launched in each district of the country to ensure drugs at affordable prices to the poor sections of the society.