The pharmaceutical industry in the country has won another crucial round of bargaining by `forcing' a delay on the proposed Pharmaceutical Policy 2006 and winning more time to push its stand as the draft policy was referred to a Group of Ministers by the Cabinet on Thursday.

Notwithstanding the stern stand by Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan to push forward the draft, citing the commitments in the Common Minimum Programme of the ruling coalition, Supreme Court directive on NLEM and unjustifiable margins of the drug companies, the Cabinet preferred to refer it to a ministerial panel instead of sending it back to the Chemicals Ministry.

With the strong lobbying by the industry, the sharp opposition from the Ministries of Finance, Commerce, Health, and Consumer Affairs, besides the Planning Commission, the policy has been virtually put in the cold storage again.

However, the industry sounded optimistic and happy on the development, hoping that they would get another chance to press the views. The industry was frowned upon the draft, presented before including its final views. Though the industry was asked to furnish the reply by December 20, the report of the 14-member joint panel was submitted on November 30 itself .

"It will definitely have a positive impact as far as the industry is concerned. We are happy that it did not go back to the Chemicals Ministry and we get more time to send our views,'' D G Shah, secretary-general of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, reacted to the development.

As the members of the GoM was not finalised at the Cabinet meeting, industry is also likely to show its strength of lobbying in the formation of the panel. The Prime Minister would shortly announce the panel.

In a last minute effort, the FICCI, CII and captains of the pharma industry and leaders of pharma organisations have mounted pressure to turn down the draft or delay it as they claimed that it was anti-industry. They chose to attack the draft collectively as there was a feeling that the pro-public policy was likely to get a nod from the cabinet on political grounds, weighing down the commercial implications.

The chemical ministry argued that the new policy would only extend the span of price control from the present 20 to 30 per cent of the domestic market and it would save the huge amount spent by the firms on promoting the essential drugs. Besides, the addition of 186 drugs in the list would have impact only on 360 formulations and the industry was given huge margin.

However, the industry claimed that it would have an effect on the 60 per cent of the market virtually. The Planning Commission, the Commerce and Finance Ministries objected the policy as they thought the curbs on firms would be against the basic spirit of liberalisation.

Though the Government claimed that the new policy would be presented in the next session of the Parliament after the GoM studying the draft, it is likely to be further delayed with another long round of meetings, representations and process was waiting to begin, industry observers say.