The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) is planning to launch the much-awaited Pharmaceutical Technology Upgradation Assistance Scheme (PTUAS) by early next year and to support at least 200 medium pharma units to comply with WHO-GMP and other international norms.

The DoP is proposing an outlay of Rs. 100 crore for the remaining period of the 11th Five Year Plan to help the medium enterprises to upgrade to WHO-GMP/higher international norms in the initial phase. The scheme will be operational initially for a period of one year tentatively from January 1, 2011 and may be extended for further period to cover the entire medium enterprises sector with around 1200 units, sources said.

Though the DoP was planning such a scheme in line with the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS) for the small scale units and got stuck with the proposal the Planning Commission, the Department has now taken steps to go ahead with it. Joint secretary Devendra Chaudhary is slated to meet the industry associations in this regard here on October 22, to discuss the issues related to the implementation of this scheme.

“Pharma industries associations had earlier proposed for financial scheme for small enterprises. Since small scale sector units have been covered in CLCSS, demand for financial assistance to medium enterprises raised by the industries association continues. This separate PTUA scheme for pharma medium scale enterprises has been proposed by the DoP for providing critical financial assistance for technological up-gradation to the above WHO-GMP and other international norms,” sources said.

Under the scheme, reimbursement of five percent point of interest on the loans taken from banks and financial institutions by the medium scale units will be given and the SIDBI will act as the nodal agency to distribute the interest subsidy.

It is estimated that medium enterprises desirous of upgrading from Schedule M to the higher international norms would approximately be required to invest about Rs. 2 to 5 crore for upgradation. “The scheme has been pegged at the level of Rs. 2 crore projects assistance in which per annum interest subsidy of 5 per cent is provided, which for one year comes to Rs. 10 lakh and for five years will be Rs. 50 lakh. Therefore per unit total assistance will be upto Rs. 50 lakh. Based on this, a total outlay of Rs. 100 crore is proposed and 200 units will get the benefit,” sources said.