Addressing infrastructure issues can aid pharma industry growth: Krishna Prasad, MD, Granules India

Given the strong mandate the NDA Government received in the election, we hope the Budget tackles the difficult issues that are needed to bolster growth. Instead of having more populist-centric Budgets like the past few years, we feel it would be prudent to provide a Budget that will help bolster growth.
 
The Budget needs to reduce subsidies that do not offer long-term benefits to the country. Many of the existing subsidies such as the ones for diesel and LPG do not provide true value. Instead, we need to scale back these sorts of subsidies and invest into projects that will provide sustainable growth for the country.
 
The country is in dire need of massive infrastructure improvements. We hope the government will use its revenue to invest into building better roads and ports. These measures will not only help domestic infrastructure companies, but will also help export-oriented companies compete with their global counterparts.
 
The Indian pharmaceutical sector is at a disadvantage compared to its peers in the US, Europe and China because we need to battle lackluster public infrastructure including crowded ports, decaying roads and a desolate power situation. If the government can address these issues, the pharma sector can grow faster and add more high-value jobs.
 
Currently, pharma companies can deduct 200% of in-house R&D deduction but it would be beneficial to the industry if the deduction applied to outsourced R&D as well. Companies that partner with outside research labs or consultants should also be able to benefit from the R&D deduction. Expanding the deduction would encourage R&D and ultimately led to better value-addition by Indian pharma companies and more high-skill job opportunities for the workforce.
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Krishna Prasad is the Managing Director of Granules India