Karnataka’s department of industries and commerce is working to give an impetus to the pharmaceutical industry in the state with the cluster development programme to achieve better operational efficiencies. The state, which unveiled its Pharmaceutical Policy in 2012, is also planing to set up a Task Force on Pharmaceuticals associating the government and the Karnataka Drugs & Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association (KDPMA).

The key strategy of the department of industries and commerce is to enhance the productivity and competitiveness as well as the capacity building of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). As a first step, the state government has organised a two-day National Vendor Development Programme & Exhibition for the pharma and allied sector on March 6 & 7, 2014 in Bengaluru.

The department of industries and commerce will have a dedicated senior official to be the point of contact and work out ways to take the cluster development initiative forward. “We are looking at locations like Hassan, Mysore, Bidar and Yadgir to set up the Clusters for Pharma MSMEs. Further, we would work closely with the KDPMA to take this forward at the earliest”, said Karnataka Commissioner for Industrial Development & Director of Industries & Commerce, M Maheswara Rao here at the opening of the first-ever  National Vendor Development Programme & Exhibition for the pharma and allied sector.

Efforts are also on to create a Task Force on Pharmaceuticals and we hope to finalize this by early April as discussions on the same will begin this month, he said.

“There is need to have a concrete outcome from this National Vendor Development Programme & Exhibition for the pharma and allied sector. Pharmaceutical industry has huge growth opportunities driven by a population of growing income, ageing population and patent expiry opportunities. This throws open avenues for the  MSME sector to manufacture and market pharmaceuticals”, he added.

The government of India Cluster Development Programme is an answer to global competition and help maximize the advantage of shared resources to decrease cost. There are several schemes on hand and the state government will do all it can to associate the industry with right capital resources, he said.

In fact, Karnataka was the first state in the country to unveil a State Pharmaceutical Policy which is seen to be a booster shot. “The state’s department of industries & commerce will now prioritize the cluster development and make the pharma sector a vibrant industry for which all assistance will be provided,” said the Karnataka Commissioner for Industrial Development & Director of Industries & Commerce.

The big advantage of pharma clusters is that it can ensure common facilities to sustain operational efficiency and create employment. Further it would be a platform for financial institutions to provide flexible norms in lending. In addition, the cluster concept is also seen to be an ideal hub to foster inter-company collaboration.