SSI ministry suggests to slow down Schedule M implementation
PB Jayakumar, Mumbai

License renewal of SSIs in trouble as fund for schedule M implementation not operationalised
Tuesday, March 07, 2006 08:00 IST
Joe C Mathew, New Delhi

The delay in the operationalisation of the support fund for Schedule M implementation has put hundreds of small scale drug manufacturing firms whose license tenure is due to expire during the current year 2005-'06 in deep trouble.

The problems faced by the SSI drug makers are two fold. On one hand, they need a valid manufacturing license to apply for the loan for Schedule M compliance. On the other, with the license validity coming to an end, the renewal is possible only if Schedule M is complied with. The drug SSIs will be compelled to close shutters without being able to avail the benefits of the technology upgradation support programme due to this problem.

Informing this, Lalit K. Jain, Co-chairman, Confederation of Indian Pharmaceutical Industries (CIPI) said that unless the government takes a considered decision to give a conditional license renewal to the drug SSIs, they would not be able to survive in the coming days. While the support fund itself is yet to come, the success rate of such a scheme is also doubtful, SSI sources indicated. According to them, the cold response towards the existing capital investment subsidy scheme of the SSI Ministry is an indication of the future of the yet-to-be-announced Pharma Technology Upgradation Fund. The reason, SSI makers feel, is the absence of a supportive directive from the Finance Ministry to pressurize the banks to provide loans without collateral security. "For a technology upgradation scheme for the SSIs to succeed, there has to a similar directive from the central government. Without it, people are not going to get the loans," Lalit Jain opined.

The absence of any SSI friendly measures in the recent Union Budget will also hinder the pace of Schedule M implementation, as survival itself is at stake for most of the units, he added.

Courtesy : www.pharmabiz.com
4th February, 2006

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