Even as the Centre is preparing a comprehensive strategy for implementing the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS) to make sure that maximum companies get the assistance to upgrade their units to comply with the GMP norms, there is growing demand from the industry to extend the scope of the scheme to such units which have already upgraded their units on their own through bank loans on high interest rates.

Sources said that thousands of SSI units are struggling to pay back their loan payments they had taken from different banks to upgrade their units to comply the GMP norms during the last some of years since the government made it mandatory to comply GMP norms in the year 2005. They had to depend on banks for loans at higher interest rates to upgrade their units as the government did not come up with any tangible scheme to assist these units so far. There was urgency to upgrade the units, otherwise the drug authorities would have cancelled their license for non-compliance of GMP norms.

These units are presently struggling due to the high interest rates and increasing competition and if they are also brought under the CLCSS scheme, it would be a big relief to these struggling units, sources said.

In fact, thousands of units have been closed after the government implemented Schedule M norms for the pharmaceutical sector from July 1, 2005 as they have no financial capacity to upgrade their units as per the GMP norms. Industry sources said that there are thousands of small and medium drug manufacturing units in different parts of the country who have stood the test of the time and have upgraded their units by taking bank loans since July 1, 2005, when the Schedule M norms were implemented by the government. The government should take care of their cause also, industry feels. Under the CLCSS scheme, the government provides a relief in the way of capital subsidy at the rate of 15 per cent to the industry.