Punjab drug makers disappointed

The Punjab Drug Manufacturers Association (PDMA) has expressed shock at the "apathy" shown by the central government towards the problems of the small pharma sector in the region.

The absence of any specific excise duty relaxation in the Union Budget has left over 5,500 SSI units high and dry without any hope for survival, according to the PDMA. The president of the Punjab Drug Manufacturers Association, Jagdeep Singh, said the central government had left the SSI drug sector in the lurch by totally ignoring their problems.

"The reduction of excise duty to 8 per cent was one of the persistent demands of the small-scale drug sector, which has not been addressed to," he said.

Further the asscociation had demanded the centre to enhance the exemption limit of SSI Drug units from the present Rs.1 Crore to Rs. 5 Crores in the state.

In an open letter to the Prime Minister the association has demanded the government to provide quality medicines at reasonable prices to the common man.

Explaining the current scenario Singh informed that the Prime Minister's Task Force and the Parliamentary Panel on Sub-Ordinate Legislation had also realized the seriousness of the issue and recommended the same.

"Is it that that the government wants to see the closure of the entire SSI drug sector of the region?" questioned Singh,when being interviewed in Mohali today.

"By a strange coincidence, SSI units were first asked to comply with Schedule M by pumping in huge funds and upgrading their units to international levels, and then called upon to face over 30 per cent disparity in excise alone, compared with exempt states. One wonders what makes finance insensitive to the fate of 5,500 SSI units who employ 10 lakh workers and produce half the country's medicines," Singh said.