New Delhi, July 21 (KNN) If the government at the Centre and the state show interest to extend all support to the pharma industry in Tamil Nadu in the form of pharma parks, interest subsidies and electricity, the state will become a hub of pharma industries like Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.

This was said by SV Veeramani, the immediate past president of Indian Drugs Manufacturers Association (IDMA) at a seminar organized by IDMA.

He opined that the state has more potential in pharma sector, but they are not fully benefited for the growth of the industry.

Speaking at the occasion, he said though Tamil Nadu is counted as the prominent state amongst others in pharmaceutical manufacturing, it is far behind Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

The state occupies the fifth position in pharmaceutical manufacturing in the country, but it can be taken forward provided more encouragement is derived from the government, he added.

Viewing good future prospects of Indian Pharma sector, he said that the industry is able to produce high quality medicines for the country and also for the world.

The low cost of production and R&D boosts the efficiency of Indian pharma companies, opined Veeramani.

Hailing the union health ministry’s National Health Protection Scheme ‘Ayushman Bharat’, Veeramani said the initiative will help for more outlay in the budget allotment for the healthcare which will ultimately raise the demand for pharmaceutical products in the country.

Further for the empowerment of state pharma sector, he wanted state government to take steps with the centre for setting up a sophisticated pharma park in Chennai.

He also informed during a seminar that the department of pharmaceuticals (DoP) has recently announced an allocation of Rs.400 crore for cluster development programs (CDPs) as well as pharmaceutical technology upgradation (PTU) purpose.

If the state gets a good share of this allocation, Tamil Nadu pharma industry will become a front runner, he added.

With regard to small players in the sector, he said because of availability of idle capacities with several small and medium enterprises, contract manufacturing has increasingly grown in the Indian pharmaceutical industry.

Quoting the present growth rate of 20%, he said that the sector will grow further as there are a lot of big pharmaceutical companies in the national level who show interest to do contract manufacturing with SMEs.

He said so many multinational companies (MNCs) opt for Indian contract manufacturers to use their idle capacities instead of setting up capital intensive facilities in India, Veeramani said.