With a view to provide required impetus to the ayurvedic industry, Gujarat Ayurvedic Aushadh Manufacturers Association (GAAMA) recently urged the Gujarat government to take pro-active measures towards reducing the industry loan interest rate to 4 per cent. Experts feel that such incentive from the government is a must for the sustenance of the ASU industry, especially under the rapidly changing regulatory set up, which is increasingly putting more economic stress on the small scale sector.

In a representation sent to the state health ministry, GAAMA pointed out that the industry which manly comprises of small scale manufacturers are finding it very difficult to meet the regulatory requirements due to lack of adequate funds to sponsor the same. Making it worse is the huge interest rate of 13 per cent that the industry has to shell out on the loan, for them to comply with the regulatory requirements, an added burden on the already cash crunched sector.

The ASU sector mainly comprises small and medium scale companies, struggling to make their ends meet, with hardly any financial support from the government. Prabodh Shah, president, GAMMA pointed out that while the industry does appreciate the government's role in strengthening the regulatory apparatus further, consideration should also be given on the fact whether the small scale industries in this sector are financially capable to deal with these changes as well.

“What we need is a good government policy or framework that is constituted after deliberating all the woes and issues of the industry. We accept that the steps taken by the government are for the greater good of the sector, as it will in the long run help us in getting acceptability and credibility globally. However, the question is, are we financially strong enough to handle this change right now, which comes with heavy investment, and are we provided with the required impetus to sponsor this changes,” Shah asked.

He further stressed that considering the current financial state of the sector, the government should provide with a helping hand by relaxing some norms like reducing the interest rate on loan for this sector, so that more companies can willingly participate in the same. As per the regulatory requirements now even the ASU sector has to comply with the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and provisions of Schedule T, which deals with minimum regulatory requirements for the ASU industry.