Govt to reimburse 75% of expenses incurred for ISO certification of pharma, biotech units
Nandita Vijay, Bangalore

Union government has announced an incentive scheme which will reimburse expenses undertaken to acquire Quality Management System (QMS) ISO-9000 certification in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSE). The assistance will be provided to the extent of 75 per cent of the expenses incurred with a maximum assistance of Rs 75,000 by one unit.

The scope of this scheme is also extended to provide reimbursement of expenses to achieve the ISO 14001 and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) Certifications.

Each state capital will have a director, MSE who has been delegated with powers to sanction the reimbursement as per the present provisions.

The scheme would provide one time reimbursement only against a permanent small scale industries (SSI) registration certificate held by a company. In case any unit has received reimbursement or grant from Central or State Government against any of the certifications for an amount less than Rs 75,000, such units would be eligible to receive the balance amount only.

The pharma industry in the India will now be able to capitalize on the assistance. While the large and many of the medium sized uunits have already sought ISO certification, the small scale sector can now make the best of the opportunity, stated Jatish N Seth, director, Srushti Pharmaceuticals and secretary, Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceutical Association (KDPMA).

The MSEs applying for the reimbursement should have EM No. (Entrepreneurial Memorandum Number) issued by the joint director, DIC of respective districts. The applications should be forwarded through Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceutical Association (KDPMA) office for quick processing, he said.

The MSEs having ISO-9000/14001 and HACCP Certification from the approved certifying bodies with the logo of NABCB (National Accreditation Body for Certification Bodies) on the Certificate only will be considered for reimbursement.

The big issue is that companies need to have awareness about such an offering from the Union government, stated Kaushik S Desai, chief executive officer, Global Pharmatech and member, KDPMA.

In order to ensure that companies in the state get the maximum benefit from the scheme, KDPMA organized a 'Training Programme on Quality Management System, Certification & Procedures' by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute.

H Baldev Singh, assistant director from the Ministry of MSME, has provided details on the various schemes of the Central Government which could support the small and medium scale industries. Anjan Roy, treasurer, KDPMA, provided information on how the industry in Karnataka could make the best out of the scheme.

The members of KDPMA also felt that there was a need to form a 'Pharma Cluster' in Bangalore so as to avail the various benefits offered by the Central Government. These will include installation of machinery/equipment, upgrade the plants, set-up R&D Centres and have common effluent treatment plants (ETP). Further the Cluster concept could also ensure that pharma companies could team-up to jointly participate in foreign exhibitions.

Source: www.pharmabiz.com
31st March 2008

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