Aiming to monitor the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS), the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) will soon develop a software which will closely monitor the capital subsidy on loans availed by the pharma SSI units under the CLCSS scheme.

According to DoP sources, the software will cover monitoring process of sanctioning of the amount of capital subsidy by the office of development commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small &Medium Enterprises (MSME) in consultation with the SIDBI from the date of receipt of loan application by them. The DoP has already started the process of developing the software as it has invited expression of interest from eligible agencies to develop the software.

The DoP in collaboration with the Development Commissioner, MSME had introduced the CLCSS scheme some time back for financial assistance to pharma SSI units for the upgradation and compliance of Schedule M standards as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945 of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act 1940. Under this scheme, 15 per cent capital subsidy is provided up to a loan of Rs 1.00 crore as per the guidelines of the scheme.

The CLCSS scheme was introduced by the government some years to financially assist the SSI units to upgrade as per GMP norms. But, there were few takers for the CLCSS scheme due to several complicated procedures which the SSI units found it difficult to follow. Subsequently, the scheme was withdrawn by the Planning Commission citing the reason of poor response.

After the failure of the CLCSS scheme and in view of the outcry for financial assistance from the SSIs for upgrading their units, the DoP mooted another scheme called pharmaceutical technology upgradation fund (PTUF). But, the Rs 560-crore PTUF scheme met with a premature death as the planning commission turned down the scheme on the ground that since the government has already started a scheme called CLCSS for the purpose of technology upgradation of SSI units, there was no need to launch another scheme for the same purpose.

Instead of introducing the PTUF scheme, the planning commission asked the DoP to make CLCSS more industry-friendly. After several rounds of meeting with concerned ministries, the DoP finally came out with a tweaked CLCSS scheme last year.

Ever since, the officials of the DoP and the MSME have been touring different parts of the country to popularize the scheme. The DoP held several workshops in different parts of the country where there are concentration of pharma SSI units to popularize the scheme.