The department of pharmaceuticals' (DoP) efforts to find a substitute scheme to its ambitious PTUF Scheme to provide financial assistance to SSIs for their technological upgradation literally stands still as the department so far did not make any headway in tweaking the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS) as was suggested by the Planning Commission.

According to sources, the DoP could not modify the CLCSS scheme to make it suitable for the pharma SSIs so far. Though the department had held some joint meetings with concerned ministries, no consensus has emerged so far. Now the scheme literally stands at the crossroads while thousands of small and medium drug manufacturers in the country are eagerly looking forward for the launch of the scheme to upgrade their facilities to meet the GMP norms set by the government.

In fact, the Union Chemicals Ministry had almost finalised the Rs 560-crore Pharmaceutical Technology Upgradation Fund (PTUF) Scheme in October, 2008 and had sent the Scheme to the finance ministry and the planning commission for their green signal. The Scheme was aimed to assist the small and medium drug manufacturing units for the technological upgradation of their manufacturing facilities in compliance with the good manufacturing practices (GMP).

Ever since the introduction of Schedule M by the government some time back, the SSIs have been urging the government to provide some financial assistance to upgrade their units as the entire technological upgradation put a big financial burden on these units. Thousands of small units have already closed down their units due to financial constraints. Under the PTUF Scheme, the government proposed to provide five per cent interest subsidy on loans.

But, the planning commission turned down the PTUF Scheme at a high-level inter-ministerial meeting held on March 2 this year on the plea that there is already a government scheme (CLCSS) launched by the ministry of small scale industries for the technology upgradation of small and medium industries. The commission had asked the chemicals ministry to revive the CLCSS scheme which was discontinued by the planning commission from the current financial year due to lack of proper response from the industry.

Though the DoP has since then been making efforts to tweak the CLCSS scheme, the department is yet to come out with any tangible results, thanks to the bureaucratic red-tapism in the government.