Government is keen and open to work with industry and make suitable amendments in policies to enhance manufacturing activity. This was stated by Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers at the 12th National Pharmaceutical Conclave organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) In New Delhi today. He further said that there is a need for industry to focus more on research and ensure a more fuller utilization of the country’s technically trained manpower. The two-day summit has witnessed the coming together of the Pharma associations in the country such as the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), the Indian Drugs Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA), the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) and the Bulk Drug Manufacturers’ Association (BDMA). Senior representatives of the associations were present at the opening function of the pharma summit. The Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Dr. V K Subburaj, said it was time for action and not for preparing another set of recommendations. He emphasized that both Government and Industry to sit together and decide what needed to be done to bring the sector out of the low growth phase that it had entered into in the past few years.
The secretary also complimented the pharma industry for bringing laurels to the country and for being the second highest foreign exchange earner after IT. He also mentioned that while pharma sector had grown in the country, the same had not been the case with medical devices sector and the country continued to depend on imports for bulk of its requirement of diagnostic equipment and other devices. He also mentioned about the the high cost of healthcare due to poor growth of devices sector in the country and asked industry to work on correcting that anomaly. Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Director General, Central Government Health Scheme, Shri Navreet Singh Kang, said incentives to encourage research were important. He said that medical devices and clinical trials were being subjected to the same standards as that of Pharma products. He said the Government wanted to partner with industry on clinical trials and assured that whatever apt change of administrative machinery was required for that, will be taken up.