To popularize the recently-amended Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS), the officials from the Department of Pharma (DoP) and Ministry for Small, Medium Enterprises (MSME) will tour different parts of the country and meet the small scale manufacturers during the month of October.

The joint team from MSME and the DoP will brief on the CLCSS and clarify on the related problems during the workshops at eight places in different zones, to be hosted by different pharma organizations. The series of workshops will begin with one in Goa on October 5, to be hosted by SPIC.

It will be followed by the workshop at Thane in Mumbai on October 6, to be organized by IDMA and SPIC. Third workshop will be held at Dehradun on October 13, to be hosted by FOPE and the next will be at Ahmedabad on October 16 with IDMA hosting the event. SPIC has agreed to arrange the workshops at Bangalore on October 22, Indore on October 30 and Kolkata (date to be finalized) while CIPI will host a workshop at Chennai. These places for the workshops and host associations were finalized at a recent meeting held by the Department of Pharma with different organisations, convened mainly to discuss the general problems faced by the industry.

Department informed the associations that MSME had included as many as 167 items for pharma industry in the CLCSS scheme. The senior officials will clarify all problems by the small scale manufacturers regarding the scheme, technology upgradation and other things as the department wants the industry to make use of it and fully utilize Rs 400 crore which will be available under it.

Holding of workshops and close interactions between the industry and the officials including development commissioner (MSME) has been one of the three main strategies prepared by the department to popularize the scheme. Apart from this, the department will also distribute brochures and related materials and release advertisements through the media as part of the strategy.