Delay in establishing National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), premier institute to conduct advanced engineering courses like IITs, in Visakhapatnam has caused serious concern among those who invested in pharma units in North Andhra.
After announcing sanction of NIPER in Visakhapatnam at the CII Investment Summit held here in January by Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar, there is no progress so far.
“The proposal is gathering dust due to lack of initiative,” CEO of a multinational pharma company said. NIPER, the managements felt, is required in the region as the pharma units are facing severe shortage of professionally qualified hands.
North Andhra has become the hub of pharmaceutical units over the years with major investments made by Eisai, Mylan, Hospura, Aurobindo, Divi’s, Hetero and Reddy Labs in Nakkapalli, Parawada, Pydibheemavaram and Ranasthalam areas.
The turnover itself is estimated at around Rs.7,000 crore to Rs.8,000 crore.
Though Mr. Ananth Kumar had made the announcement and it was envisaged to invest around Rs.600 crore on creating infrastructure for NIPER, so far no initiative worth the name has been made to identify a suitable site.
“The sorry state of affairs and the lack of initiative were brought to the notice of Chief Secretary S.P. Tucker during his recent visit to the city,” Vizag Development Council vice-president O. Naresh Kumar said.
Incidentally, the pharma managements are expecting Visakhapatnam to have another Pharma City as the Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City (JNPC) set up at Parawada by the government under PPP mode has no space for allotment to new units.
Ramky, which developed JNPC, has already allotted space to 100 units of which majority have started their operations.
On a request by Bulk Drug Manufacturers of India, which strongly pleaded that the region needs second Pharma City in 500 acres, the APIIC has drawn plans to set up second Common Effluent Treatment Plant at Atchutapuram in the vicinity of JNPC and Special Economic Zone-Atchutapuram. Brandix India Apparel City is located in Atchutapuram.
Mr. Naresh Kumar said despite representation by local MP K. Haribabu, the State had not taken the initiative to start work on NIPER by giving a formal proposal to the Centre.
Already there is resentment in various circles following reports that campuses of Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Indian Institute of Packaging and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, proposed in Visakhapatnam are being relocated to Kakinada, Vijayawada and other places.
