The Indian government is expected to announce a set of measures to tackle possible disruption in supply of drugs and other manufactured goods due to the coronavirus outbreak in China. The solutions may include a reduction in customs duty on some essential inputs, apart from speeding up port clearances.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman met industry players and instructed her team of officers to discuss the issues with ministries concerned for a brainstorming session. “The issues raised will be informed to them (other departments) and then they will apply their mind and come back so that we talk it among ourselves so that possible solutions can be found, post which we will hopefully have a discussion with the PMO. Speedily, some response will be announced at the earliest,” Sitharaman said after meeting representatives from around 20 industries which do business with China. A senior official said the government would look at suggestions to airlift some inputs and raw material used for manufacturing life-saving medicines and reduce duties to offset the impact of higher transportation cost.
Niti meet on ways to hike production of pharma ingredients
Asked about solutions to tackle possible shortage of medicines, Sitharaman said, “I can answer this after a few days… The concern is that some essential raw material will have to be obtained, we will have to act speedily. That’s where it is today.” Separately, Niti Aayog has called a meeting of several ministries to discuss ways to manufacture pharma ingredients as India imports nearly two-thirds of its requirement of basic drugs used in medicines from China.
There were indications that some announcements to address the concerns will come over the next few days. Chemicals used by various industries were flagged as an area of concern and domestic industry indicated that the supply disruption could be used as an opportunity to resume production.
Company executives spoke of stocks being held up at ports as it was difficult to complete paperwork due to problems in China. Besides, there were demands from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to ensure that there was no financial impact on them due to supply lines getting choked.
The finance minister, however, said the industry had suggested that other options for sourcing raw material should also be explored. She said sectors such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilisers and solar power suggested that this would be the best time to start new manufacturing units.
