The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers is set to unveil within a week a cluster development scheme that will enable pharma units in different clusters across the country to set up common facilities with financial assistance from the Government.
“The scheme has received all the necessary approvals and will be announced next week,’’ BK Singh, Director of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, said.
Under the scheme, pharma clusters will get a financial aid of 70 per cent, up to a limit of ₹20 crore for each cluster, to set up common facilities such as effluent treatment, R&D laboratories, logistics and training facilities.
For the scheme, a cluster has been defined as a zone having at least 15 pharma units within a radius of 10 km.
“This will include SEZs and other pharma zones. In our estimate, there could be some 25 to 30 such clusters across the country,’’ Singh told Business Line on the sidelines of a CII meet here today.
The ministry has set aside ₹125 crore to be spent on the scheme for the next three years.
Singh, who is part of the team that worked on the scheme, said the ministry will appoint a project management consultant in the next two months. The consultant will receive the proposals from different clusters, appraise them and finally recommend to the ministry on their viability.