The Union commerce ministry is keen to push a comprehensive package for the pharma industry, instead of the existing financial assistance available in piecemeal. In this direction, the ministry has asked the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) to prepare a comprehensive report on the needs of the industry, especially on the export front, and submit to the government for preparing such an exclusive package.

The Pharmexcil is likely to hire an agency to prepare such a study and submit it to the government at the earliest, it is learnt.

A senior official from the Commerce Ministry, while interacting with the Pharmexcil administrative committee some time back, had offered all support of the ministry for a comprehensive package. “There have been such demands for exclusive package at various occasions. But unless a report is prepared giving comparative statistical data of export performance of various industry sectors like incentives available to those industries, demand of pharma industry for a separate package will remain unattended,’’ the official conveyed.

The ministry hence has sought an elaborate report at the earliest from the Pharmexcil so that a package can be framed and forwarded for further approvals at the Centre. The ministry also asked to include the aspects like bilateral agreements, particular clauses, financial requirements, comparison of infrastructure available, possible study tours abroad etc. in the report. The ministry suggested that all problems being raised by the members of the industry could be included in the report.

The need for encouraging SMEs to enhance performance in developed countries, non-availability of MDA to individual exporters for general areas, formation of task force for different countries of export destination, problem with turnover criteria to avail MDA, and non-trade barriers in some countries like those in Latin America may be thus covered in the report, according to the instruction.

Though different schemes are available for the pharma industry on the export front, along with other segments, the leaders of the industry have been pressing for a separate package. India’s revenue is less than 0.5 per cent of world revenue in pharma sector and there is a lot of scope to do better in developed countries. However, pharma industry’s financial requirements are different from other sectors and there is a need for an exclusive financial package for pharma sector, it was pointed out.