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Govt should come out with policies supportive to pharma MSMEs engaged in formulations: Jagdeep Singh
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
December 21 , 2020
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Unless the government comes out with effective pharma policies supportive to the thousands of struggling small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in pharma formulations, big pharma companies and multinationals will take over the sector.
The SMEs cannot get along with the present policies which are tilted towards big players, observes Jagdeep Singh, president of the Punjab Drug Manufacturers Association (PDMA) and managing director of Parex Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, Mohali.
The PDMA president alleges that the government policies are framed as per the interest of the big players and of the multinational companies. When a lot of MSMEs are struggling and closing down units for want of help, Government of India is not interested to listen to their issues.
He said the golden age of the Punjab pharma industry vanished from the scene 20 years ago. It was doing more or less well until 2005 when suddenly the rate of excise rose to 25%. Following it, there was a big exodus of units from Punjab to the excise free zones (EFZ) areas in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh by diminishing the number of factories in Punjab. Even now the pharma policies of the central and state governments everywhere are not industry-friendly to the sector. This has to be changed to evade further setbacks.
“Even in the midst of struggle, the pharma sector in Punjab is moving ahead with 200 small and medium scale pharma units (MSMEs) and four big players. No MNC has presence in the state. If an industry-friendly atmosphere is created by the government, it will help the small scale players’ opportunities for indulging in exports. It is the central government that should let the MSME sector grow without making frequent policy changes,” says the leader while briefing Pharmabiz about the present situation of pharmaceutical industry in Punjab.
He further said unlike the problems faced by other states, Punjab has no infrastructure or raw material issues. There is minor issue of skilled workers, but marketing often becomes a problem for the entire MSMEs. The domestic pharma sector can address all these challenges provided government introduces policies for the growth of small players rather than helping big players and MNCs.
Singh agrees on one point that the government is introducing so many measures to bring up the bulk drug production (APIs) to promote indigenous manufacture of medicines. But, he says, the pharma MSMEs engaged in formulations are facing myriad issues due to the government policies. Punjab drugs manufacturers association is fighting for the development of the sector through representations and discussions with the government authorities.
As regards the total development of the industry sector, he said PDMA is taking all efforts with the government to set up one pharma cluster. For the purpose, one Society was registered for promoting it. There also the industry faces the cumbersome policies of the government. The association has only the memberships of 70 companies despite 200 units are operating in the state.
Singh said Punjab will be a promising destination for pharmaceutical industry like Gujarat or Maharashtra if an industry friendly atmosphere is established. As long as the present situation continues, there will not be a progress in the pharma sector in the state. Even today, a good number of companies in Punjab export their products to eastern and western countries.
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