To promote manufacturing of APIs in India, the Haryana government plans to set up a bulk drug/API park in Panipat. The State has identified a 900-acre land behind the Panipat refinery. The government also intends to form an Industry Advisory Council soon to initiate work on the proposed bulk drug park.
To discuss the project and its benefits with industry stakeholders, the State Government organised a webinar coordinated by Pranav Gupta, Chairman, PHD Chamber, Haryana, along with AK Singh, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Haryana and Anurag Agrawal, Managing Director, Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC). It was attended by key representatives of the industry, mainly from North India such as Dinesh Dua, Chairman, Pharmexcil and BR Sikri, Chairman, FOPE and Vice President, BDMA.
The HSIIDC will be the authorised implementation agency and reportedly, it is planning to offer many lucrative schemes to investors for the promotion of the API Park in Haryana.
To name a few schemes:
1) Capital Subsidy
2) Interest Subsidy
3) Refund of State GST
4) Employment Subsidy
Sikri informed, “The state government has identified the 900-acre land, of that 650 acres are for the proposed API park. The remaining land will be considered for other API manufacturers who do not fall in this category.”
Highlighting the benefits of the State which will work in favour of industry stakeholders, he said, “The Haryana State records the third position in the country for ease of doing business. And with the best infrastructure available in the State, pharma companies will have the advantage of connectivity with two international and three domestic airports, along with 15 national highways passing the state as well as a well-connected railway network. These will ensure easy movement of pharma goods within the country as well as the export of pharma goods.”
He also informed, “It is assumed that approximately 30-35 pharma companies will be set up. However, the proposed committee will prepare a detailed project report and based on the presented report, the DoP will scrutinise each application to ensure that applicant/s can fulfil the eligibility criteria.”
As per the Central Government’s Scheme, bulk drug parks are going to come up in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. Reportedly, many other States; mainly Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and now Haryana, are also trying to get approval from the government for Bulk Drug Parks.
Presently, around 150 pharma formulation units are located in the state.