Last Updated on January 14, 2024 by The Health Master
In a bid to facilitate micro, small and medium pharma enterprises (MSMEs) to upgrade their plants and machinery to globally accepted standards, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) is mulling to implement the Pharmaceutical Technology Upgradation Assistance Scheme (PTUAS) soon.
The department had submitted the revised PTUAS to the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) for review last year.
The Finance ministry has recommended certain changes to the scheme which are being worked out by the department.
The finalization of the scheme is in its last leg. It will soon be implemented. The scheme will help pharma MSMEs to upgrade their quality standard, said Abhishek Kumar Singh, deputy secretary, DoP.
The scheme will help pharma MSMEs get a loan from banks at a very reasonable rate and the interest rate they would be paying will be much less to what banks would be charging, said Singh.
The aim of the scheme is to help pharma MSMEs improve technology and infrastructure to migrate from Schedule M to World Health Organisation good manufacturing practice (WHO-GMP) standards, subject to achieving export targets.
Earlier, the DoP had offered a 6 per cent interest subsidy on loans up to Rs. 8-10 crore for three years for this and earmarked Rs. 300 crore for disbursal as an interest subsidy for 2020-2022.
When asked, Singh has not disclosed the percentage of interest subvention and the fund earmarked for disbursal as interest subsidy.
There are around 7,000 MSMEs in the country, who are likely to benefit from the scheme.
In a representation to DoP, the Small and Medium Pharma Manufacturers Association (SMPMA) requested it to expedite implementation of the scheme.
“The PTUA scheme which was announced by the DoP 4-5 years back would help the existing MSME units to upgrade their facilities and systems to comply with stringent regulations.
As the DoP is aware that the pharmaceuticals regulations both at national level and the international level are dynamic and the industry is bound to comply with these in order to continue their operations.
The interest subvention of 6 per cent offered by PTUA scheme would benefit a handful for pharma MSME manufacturers who need support in funding to upgrade their facilities and systems and to get the WHO GMP certificates, the basic certification required to do pharma export to any country,” said Nipun Jain, chairman of SMPMA.
“We therefore request the DoP to implement the PTUA scheme immediately,” he added.
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