The Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council (Pharmexcil), after opening centres in Delhi and Mumbai, will open its third branch office at Ahmedabad on August 13, 2009 to support the increasing export activities of the stakeholders in Gujarat.
The office, set up at Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, will be inaugurated by Rajeev Kher, joint secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India. Ravi Saxena IAS, principal secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of Gujarat, will be the guest of honour in the function.
The office will work as a facilitating centre between the pharma exporters in Gujarat and the Pharmexcil headquarters in Hyderabad, informs Dr P V Appaji, executive director, Pharmexcil. The Pharmexcil regional office will offer immediate support and guidance for the companies in Gujarat for exports and will assist them to go through export and registration procedures.
The council will also provide export data, circulars from Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and Pharmexcil, country reports and will organise programmes for companies focusing on exports business.
"The branch office in Ahmedabad will give guidance to the companies, especially the small and medium enterprises, on issues related to exports of their products. The office will also be helpful for us in collecting data related to exports from the state and would conduct seminars and events related to pharmaceutical exports," says Appaji.
The council will have three members headed by an expert in pharmaceutical exports to carry out the day-to-day activities. Once the works are fully functional, the council may increase the staff strength according to the requirement. The Gujarat State Board of Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA-GSB) and the state Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) have already extended their full support to the Phramexcil initiative, he comments.
With more than 170 companies complied with the WHO Good Manufacturing Standards (GMP), Gujarat pharma industry is growing fast in exports segment at present. According to the state government reports in January 2009, Gujarat currently contributes 42 per cent of the national pharmaceutical production and 22 per cent of the Indian pharma exports. The export from the state is growing faster with more companies entering into exports business, according to Kamlesh Patel, chairman, IDMA-GSB.
The opening of a branch office in Gujarat comes as part of the council's plans to set up its regional centres in various parts of the country. Pharmexcil has also plans to set up offices in cities like Bangalore, Chennai and Madhya Pradesh.