In order to generate skilled work force for ayurvedic drug manufacturing, Maharashtra's second Ayurveda industry cluster MAC Pune will soon start certificate courses of one year duration on raw material identification, grading and standardisation by July 2015.

Maharashtra Ayurved Centre Pvt Ltd. (MAC) based at Kolewadi, Pune cluster houses a dedicated raw material processing centre for supply of standardised, graded, certified and processed raw materials in bulk to the ayurvedic manufacturers across the state.

Syllabus of the course which has been approved by Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) Nashik is now in the process of getting institutional registration which will be started at the common facility centre of Kolewadi in Pune District. With an intake capacity of 60 shortlisted students having passed 12th Class with science stream, the course is titled as “Ayurvedic Raw Material Identification, Storage, Processing and Packaging”. It will cater to the shortage of skilled work force who can identify the raw material and process it to be utilised for manufacturing.

Explains Dr Sunita Belgamwar, chairperson of MAC Pune, "There is s huge requirement of such trained manpower considering the future requirement of raw material which is standardised, certified and packaged properly. The course is intended to train personnel mainly for meeting requirements of consumer sector of ayurvedic drugs. They will be acquainted with the raw material of ayurvedic drugs for identification, storage, processing, packaging and making it ready for manufacturing. They will also be trained to maintain stores of ayurvedic drugs (both raw materials and finished products) properly."

She further adds that the increasing demand for traditional drugs globally also has led to increase for exports from the country of the raw material and finished drugs. MAC Pune cluster has given us an opportunity to develop a 360 degree horizontal model to propagate concepts and principles of Ayurveda to all the stakeholders through interventions like exhibition, contract manufacturing, raw material processing and sale, quality control lab and entrepreneurship development centre.

The MAC Pune Cluster is aimed at bringing about quality improvement of raw material and finished goods, reduction in the individual capital investment through contract manufacturing, reduction in the pre manufacturing time (40 per cent time saving) by virtue of bulk raw material supply, reduction in the packaging and labelling costs through a common facility centre, reduction in marketing costs by common marketing and branding (40 per cent cost saving), development of new drugs, process design and validation to compete globally, IPR protection and assistance in research and development and global exposure through common exhibitions.

It is also envisaged to establish EU/US FDA approved manufacturing facilities in three years, setting up advanced teaching institutes, create exclusive exports division in five years, establish 15 exclusive herbal and Ayurveda products distribution centres (Ayurways stores) by 2015 across Maharashtra.