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Rajasthan to emerge as most viable industrial location for pharma sector in a couple of years: Vinod Kalani
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
December 15 , 2020
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Rajasthan is prepared to emerge as the most viable industrial location for pharmaceutical formulations, medical devices and neutraceuticals in India in a couple of years.
The pharma sector in Rajasthan will emerge stronger after the COVID pandemic and the state will become a growth engine for the entire pharmaceutical sector in the country. The disruptive effect of the COVID-19 has not much impacted the pharma sector in Rajasthan, according to Vinod Kalani, president of the Rajasthan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (RPMA).
Expressing hope for a better industrial atmosphere for growth in pharmaceutical production sector, Kalani said, “Pharmaceutical manufacturing in Rajasthan is in an upward growth and several new units are being set up by investing more on technology. The state government is supporting the industry with all sources to develop the pharma sector. The focus areas are formulations, bulk drugs, medical devices, neutraceuticals and Ayush medicines.
In a telephonic interaction with Pharmabiz, Kalani said there are eight major players and 90 SME units who concentrate on formulations and APIs. He said the pharmaceutical exports from Rajasthan garner foreign exchange earnings of Rs 3,000 crore annually. Twenty pharma companies from Jaipur and Jodhpur export their products to other countries. The advantage of the Rajasthan pharma industry is its proximity to the national capital and it foresees a bright future.
According to Kalani, compared to pharma industries in Maharashtra and Gujarat the number of manufacturing units in Rajasthan is limited, but there is big scope for growth in the national level.
He said the regulatory changes that happened in the last 15 years in the pharma sector have brought good results in the pharmaceutical sector in Rajasthan as most of the units were upgraded to GMP status without closing down the plants. However, there are several challenges faced by the industry now and they are related to skilled personnel and current global standards. RPMA is giving training to the workforce in the units with the support of the department of pharmaceuticals, industry department and NGOs.
Like everywhere else, the COVID pandemic has been a big source of worry for the pharmaceutical industry in Rajasthan in the current year and the manufacturing segment was hit hard by the pandemic. However, the manufacturing units could come up gradually though the production has been down by 30% initially. The president of the RPMA said the support of the government and the drugs control administration was a big thrust on the pharma sector to survive the situation to move the industry smoothly now.
Responding to queries from Pharmabiz, Kalani said his association has given several proposals to the government for the development and growth of the state pharmaceutical industry. Now the government has come forward with some attracting projects and some of them are setting up an API park and a medical devices park in Jodhpur. Further, one pharma cluster is in the pipeline. All these projects are supported by the Central schemes.
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