Establishment of “Bulk Drug Parks” in the country

The Drugs Department has given “in-principle” approval to the proposals of three states- Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh to set up Bulk Drug Parks.

Under the supervision of the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, these parks will be developed with the vision to make India self-reliant in the pharma sector.

Under this scheme, three bulk drug parks will be established in the country.

UPSC Syllabus : This topic will come under “Subjects related to development and management of social sector/services related to health, education, human resources”.

About drug park scheme

• Under the drug park scheme of the central government, three bulk drug parks will be developed in the country.
• A maximum assistance worth 1000 crores will be provided for a drug park.
• The grant-in-aid will be 70% of the cost of common facilities but 90% in the case of Himalayan states.
• A State may propose only one place, the area of ​​which is not less than 1000 acres, or not less than 700 acres in the case of hill states.
• Facilities for manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (APIs) will be developed in the drug park.
• It aims to reduce the cost of manufacturing of bulk drugs by creating world class common infrastructure supported by the central government and thereby enhance the competitiveness of the domestic bulk drug industry.
• The drug park scheme will also help in providing a continuous supply of medicines and ensuring affordable healthcare to the citizens.

Status of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

• Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third largest industry in the world by size.
• India exported drugs worth Rs 1,75,040 crore in the financial year 2021-22, which includes bulk drugs/drug intermediates.
• In addition, India is one of the leading producers of active medicinal components (APIs) or bulk drugs in the world.
• India exported bulk drugs/drug intermediates worth Rs. 33,320 crore in the financial year 2021-22. However, India also imports various bulk drugs/APIs for manufacturing of drugs from many countries.
• Indian government is continuously trying to reduce the country’s dependence on imports and promote indigenous manufacturing.
• The Department of Pharmaceuticals is implementing various schemes to make the country self-reliant in API and Drug Intermediates. One of the major initiatives is establishing Bulk Drug Parks.

What is Bulk Drug or Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient – API?

• Bulk drug is an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API); like – Paracetamol is a pain reliever bulk drug, it is mixed with other factors to make various pharma products.
• Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are used as “raw materials” to make tablets, capsules and syrups. API has a major role in the manufacture of any medicine and Indian companies are largely dependent on China for this API.
• Active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is the part of a drug that has the ability to cure a disease. Many times you may have observed that on tablets it is written  – Dolo 650 (Paracetamol). This means that this tablet contains 650mg of active pharmaceutical ingredients which will help in curing your fever.
• There are also two types of companies in pharmaceutical companies. Most of the companies make active pharmaceutical ingredients and other companies work on preparing formulations for these medicines.

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