After dilly dallying on the issue of whether the industry associations will be given another opportunity to present their case, the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has finally decided to invite all the major pharmaceutical associations for the much delayed second GoM meeting scheduled for September 12. However, OPPI is yet to get the official invite from Pawar's office.

According to sources, GoM has asked the industry associations to give a PowerPoint presentation separately. Each association has been given 10 minutes time to make their presentation.

Earlier, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was invited for the GoM meeting which is meeting after five months of the first meeting which was held on April 10. Ajay Piramal, chairman of CII national committee on drugs and pharmaceuticals and the chairman of Nicholas Piramal India Ltd will be attending the meeting.

Though there is difference of opinion among the pharmaceutical associations on several issues concerning them, the meeting ground of all the associations including OPPI, IPA, IDMA and CIPI will be the controversial issue of price control. The entire policy discussion will revolve around this one issue as all the associations are one on this issue. Preferring price monitoring by the government, the industry associations oppose the price control policy tooth and nail.

When contacted, IDMA spokesman refused to divulge their strategy for the power presentation. The IDMA has been asked to make their presentation at 2 pm on September 12. "We are preparing the matter for the presentation", an IDMA spokesman tersely said.

Meanwhile, a CIPI spokesman said that apart from the price control issue, the association will ask for increase in conversion charges by around five times as the cost of production has gone five times due to the implementation of revised Schedule M in the SSIs. The CIPI will also ask the GoM to reserve for SSIs some percentage of medicine supply to the government institutions to protect the small scale industry which is providing employment to a large number of people in the country.