Last Updated on October 19, 2024 by The Health Master
The Karnataka government is planning to boost its bulk drug manufacture in the state with the setting up of a 500-acre dedicated Bulk Drug Park at Yadgir in north Karnataka. This will be implemented under the Union government’s Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP)’s assistance of around Rs. 100 crore.
The cost of the project includes cost of land, building, pre-operative expenses like preparation of DPR (detailed project report), administrative and management support expenses including the salary of CEO, engineers, other experts and staff during the project implementation period. It will also cover preliminary expenses, machinery & equipment, miscellaneous fixed assets and other support infrastructure such as water supply, electricity and margin money for working capital.
For its implementation, the central government insists that only a State Implementing Agency (SIA) can take a decision about the common infrastructure facilities needed to be created for being eligible to be considered as a Common Facility Centre (CFC) for a Bulk Drug Park. The scheme would be executed through a one-time grant-in-aid to be released for creation of identified infrastructure and common facilities to a SIA set up for the purpose. A Tripartite agreement will be entered into among the GOI, the State Government concerned and the SIA for CFC projects.
Some of the indicative activities under the common facilities specified by the Union government are effluent treatment plants, captive power plants, steam and cooling systems, incubation facilities, common logistic facilities, advanced common testing centre, regulatory awareness facilitation centre and emergency response centre.
The land and building for CFC will be provided by SIA. The Park needs to be operational within two years from the date of final approval, unless extended with the consent of the Scheme Steering Committee (SSC). Escalation in the cost of project over and above the sanctioned amount, due to any reason, will be borne by the SIA. The Central government would not accept any financial liability arising out from the CFC. The user charges for services of CFC will be on differential rate basis. There will be lower fee for small units and higher fee for medium ones. However, the user charges will be graded in such a manner that average charges will be lesser than prevailing market prices to be decided by SIA.
Now the Karnataka state industries and commerce secretary has mandated that Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) will be the SIA. It has already received about 45 applications to set up the production plants within the Park, Harish K Jain, secretary, Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and director, Embiotic Laboratories told Pharmabiz.
In the project for the dedicated Pharma Park which Karnataka has been working towards, Jain said that the Union government has now tweaked the scheme to provide assistance to the tune of Rs. 20 crore only to existing parks or Brownfield projects.
“We are keen to have the Park in Bengaluru which is home to a maximum chunk of the 265 pharma companies in the state. The KDPMA is now looking for two acres land at subsidised rate in Bengaluru from the government to set up common facilities like the Innovation Centre, testing facility, training unit for which the central government will give Rs. 20 crore, said Jain.
For the upcoming Nagamangala Pharma Park, Mandya district which is planned under the MSME scheme, we can say it is work in progress, he said.
