Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's And Cipla Among 55 Firms Selected For Rs 15,000 Crore PLI Scheme For Pharmaceutical Sector

The government has selected 55 pharma companies including Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Cipla for Rs 15,000 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to boost domestic manufacturing capabilities in pharmaceuticals sector.

The PLI scheme for Pharmaceuticals, which was approved by the Union Cabinet in February this year, is expected to promote the production of high value products in the country and increase the value addition in exports.

The Operational Guidelines for the scheme inviting applications from the pharmaceutical industry were issued on 1 June 2021 by the Department of Pharmaceuticals after intensive consultation with industry and related departments and NITI Aayog.

The scheme received a total of 278 applications by the closing date of 31 August out of which a maximum of 55 applicants were to be selected.

The applications for the scheme were invited in three different categories of applicants to ensure fair competition and broad coverage amongst the industry players.

The categories were based on the size of the applicant as determined by the global manufacturing revenues from pharmaceutical manufacturing, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers release said on Friday (26 November).

The ministry further said that the appraisal of the applications has been carried out on the basis of the ranking methodology laid down in the operational guidelines of the Scheme.

The Group A consists of 11 selected applicants including Sun Pharmaceutical, Aurobindo Pharma, Dr Reddy’s Laoratories, Lupin, Cadila Healthcare, Cipla, Glenmark and Torrent Pharmaceuticals.

The Group-B consists of 9 selected applicants including Biocon, MSN Laboratories, Wockhardt, Biological E, Natco and Strides Pharma.

According to the ministry, the objective of the scheme is to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities by increasing investment and production in the sector and contributing to product diversification to high value goods in the pharmaceutical sector.

One of the further objectives of the scheme is to create global champions out of India who have the potential to grow in size and scale using cutting edge technology and thereby penetrate the global value chains.

The scheme will provide financial incentives on the incremental sales (over Base Year) of pharmaceutical goods and in-vitro diagnostic medical devices to selected applicants based on pre-defined selection criteria.

The incentives will be paid for a maximum period of six years for each participant depending upon the threshold investments and sales criteria to be achieved by the applicant. The total quantum of the incentive for the scheme is Rs 15,000 crore. SIDBI is the Project Management Agency for the Scheme.

The scheme covers three different product categories for which applicants have applied under the scheme.

• Category 1: Biopharmaceuticals; Complex generic drugs; Patented drugs or drugs nearing patent expiry; Cell based or gene therapy drugs; Orphan drugs; Special empty capsules like HPMC, Pullulan, enteric etc.; Complex excipients; Phyto-pharmaceuticals.