Concerned over the growing infrastructural issues plaguing the industry, the Goa Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association (GPMA), has sought immediate intervention of the chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar and the deputy drugs controller (DDCI), Dr K Bangarurajan.

The association will be meeting them in May in this regard, as lack of proper infrastructural facilities like land, water & electricity are posing a huge stumbling block for the growth of pharma sector in the state.

The Association hopes to get some reprieve from their current situation by urging the competent authorities to provide support to the sector under the industrial development board, which the CM had constituted recently in the state to focus on infrastructural development of key sectors. The Association plans to impress upon the contribution that pharma sector has been making in the state by way of bringing in huge investment and job opportunities.

It has been observed by many that the state government has been lately more inclined towards focusing on other sectors like information technology (IT), while ignoring the needs of the pharma and allied sectors like packaging etc. This is especially when there is more investment opportunities and interest shown to set up or expand the pharma and other allied sector in the state compared to others.

"There are many investors interested in coming into the state, however they are not getting the positive feelers nor any scope to invest in the state due to lack of availability of land. This is not only stopping further investment into the state but also pushing new investors and current unit holders to set up their facilities in other locations like Indore where they are getting tax compensation to do so. The current need of the hour is that the government identify pharma and its allied industries as key sectors under the ambit of industrial development board, so that the sector gets immediate attention under its scheme," Suresh Kamath president of GPMA said.

He further stressed that focusing on allied sector in the state should also be met on a priority basis, as the industry is currently forced to depend on other states for the same, which is both time consuming and costly.

Currently there are 70 to 75 pharma units in the state, of which, 40 to 45 units are 100 per cent export oriented.