Andhra Pradesh is keen on setting up a Bulk Drug Park (BDP) in at least 2,000 acres under the BDP scheme of the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. It is also ready to constitute the A.P. Bulk Drug Infrastructure Corporation (APBDIC) for the purpose.
In G.O. MS No. 45 issued on Wednesday, Special Chief Secretary (industries & commerce) R. Karikal Valaven said that the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) was authorised to submit an application seeking to establish the BDP to the Government of India.
The proposal
The Central government proposes to develop three BDPs in partnership with and through a grant-in-aid to the States with a maximum limit of ₹1,000 crore per park with 70% financial assistance to the selected park.
The project involves a private partner who will be offering land, and design, build, finance, develop and operate the park. It will also have the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology - Council of Scientific Industrial Research (IICT-CSIR) as the knowledge partner.
It was stated in the G.O. that with 400-plus units, A.P. was playing a major role in the Indian pharmaceutical sector and stood in the third position with $5 billion output and $1 billion worth of exports.
The APBDIC will be set up by the APIIC. The APBDIC’s initial board will have Special CS (industries and commerce) as Chairman. Principal Finance Secretary, APIIC Vice-Chairman, State Drug Controller, Director of Industries, AP Pollution Control Board member-secretary, directors of IICT-CSIR and IIT-Tirupati, and MD of State Implementation Agency will be its directors.
The proposals submitted by the States will be evaluated by a project management agency basing on the recommendations made to the Department of Pharmaceuticals. Applications meeting the criteria will be ranked on the basis of total marks, and the top three States will be given in-principle approval after which the DPRs have to be submitted.
