The Department of Ayush has selected Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to support and monitor the Rs 17 crore 'Cluster Scheme' project in Karnataka.

With the ILFS support, Karnataka Indian Medicine Manufacturers Association (KIMMA) is the first to lay the foundation stone of its 'Cluster Scheme' project, known as the Ayurpark Health Care Ltd. The cluster has seen a fund infusion of Rs 17 crore, out of which Rs 10 crore was from the Central government, Rs 5 crore from financial institutions and Rs 2 crore from the 39 Ayush small units which have formed the cluster.

ILFS will now oversee the development of the Ayush cluster. All the units in this cluster concept are in the small and micro segment. The main objective of the cluster scheme is to give the units an opportunity for growth not only from a manufacturing point of view but also from the development of a quality product, KIMMA president JSD Pani told Pharmabiz.

The cluster concept will now transform the micro and unorganised Ayush industry into a quality conscious, process oriented and technology driven segment, he added.

After the launch of the Karnataka cluster project, a Capacity Building Programme was organized for the Ayush industry where S Jalaja, secretary department of Ayush, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that with the interface of the state and central government with the industry, the small scale sector will now be able to look at quality production practices. The cluster will be common platform for the industry to voice their views on the business development potential.

The government has increased the allocation to Rs 6,000 crore to the Aysuh sector under the 11th Plan from the earlier Rs 1,000 crore during the X Plan. Since the government is looking at offering all its support, several initiatives are on the cards, she said

Efforts are also on by the department of Ayush to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which will now focus on the quality recognition of the drugs from the Indian System of Medicine (ISM.). In this regard, the Quality of Council of India (QCI) will introduce the ‘Ayush Mark’ which will be displayed on all drug packs.

The Ayush Mark is on similar lines like that of the BIS and Agmark on consumer products. The identification will be a stamp of quality and give the consumer all the confidence that the Ayush drug has cleared the safety and quality of content standards. For this QCI has called in for a volunteer certification process. It will identify labs which will test the products that will be vetted by QCI.

Currently, there are 9,385 Ayush units in the country and over 90 per cent are in the small scale segment. Through the cluster scheme, the gap between the small scale sector and the government can be bridged, stated Dr GN Sreekantaiah, director, Karnataka Directorate of Ayush.