Government apathy impacts North Indian pharma units

Himachal and Uttarakhand are the main hubs of pharma industry in North India as these areas were declared as tax free zone by the Government of India. However  once units started shifting from other parts of the country to these areas, the indifferent attitude of various agencies has impacted  the morale of the pharma sector , particularly those who are in the small scale sector.

By a rough estimate, more than Rs 4000 crores has been invested by many big and small groups in pharma sector and more than 25000 youths were employed by the pharma industry of  these two states. But now the  story remains grim for all of them.

Around 5000 units in the country produce more than 40 per cent of the products in various pharma segments.

There has been concerted efforts to wipe out the entire small pharma.  Policies, regulations and legislations are being amended to wreak havoc on  SMEs.  These  policies seems to be for elimination and not to strengthen the SME segment.

 It started with the implementation of Schedule M, subsequently GLP and now GDP.  In addition to this the  increasing presence of Chinese products,  dependability on china for more than 65 per cent of its API requirement are few of the threat which have to be redressed expeditiously.  Trade deficit between India and China is another factor which is affecting the pharma sector.

Although the  world leaders have  recognized Indian pharma companies as their base for outsourcing the products from India as every third tablet being consumed any where in the world is manufactured in India, our own government has yet to come forward to protect the industry from various quarters.

Out country has more than 54 per cent  population which is less than the age of 35 years. It means we have huge potential of manpower in days to come . However if our policies are  tough and not industry friendly, youth will not get the employment and the result of the same will be an  increase in the crime rate. Therefore, Government has to come forward  as a facilitator and not as a regulator of the  industry.

The following suggestions are given to  help improve the pharma sector as a whole:

• The Government of India has to first of all increase the budget allocation of health sector in comparison to previous years.
• The recommendation of 12th Five Year Plan Task Force  should be  accepted by the government to  speed up  the tempo  of  the  pharma sector.
• The Government has to sit with stake holders to resolve  issues out of court , the matters that are being taken up by the industry through the court of laws. This will strengthen the relations of Govt and the industry.
• Government should enhance the interaction with various associations having  All India status.
• There should be  frequent  Sino- India Forum meetings in which the Government as well as industry representatives should sit together to give a momentum to business in the overall interest of both the countries.
• Issues like bar-coding, trace and track should be implemented in a phased manner to avoid financial burden of  the industry, particularly of the  SME segment.