In a booster dose, pharma industry gets 'green' signal in New Year

Drug makers allowed to tweak product mix or quantity without fresh environment clearance until effluent load is same

In what can be a game changer for the Indian pharmaceutical industry, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has cleared a proposal to allow drug manufacturers to tweak their product mix or raw materials used without a fresh environmental clearance as long as their pollution load remains constant. The move is expected to bring much sought-after relief for bulk drug makers, and the industry feels it can trigger fresh investments worth Rs 10,000 crore every year for the next few years.

According to government sources, a notification is expected soon. “Earlier, clearance was required for any change in raw