Govt considers lifeline for MSME drug firms

THE PROPOSED EXTENSION COMES AS FEWER THAN A THIRD OF MSMES HAVE SUBMITTED UPGRADE PLANS

- Priyanka Sharma

The Union health and family welfare ministry will hold consultations with state governments on the issue starting Monday, one of the officials said.

Low compliance by the countrys 8,500 small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) manufacturing pharmaceuticals would raise the risk of plant closures and disruptions across India’s $50 billion pharmaceutical sector, a major global supplier of generic medicines.

The revised Schedule M GMP had been earlier extended from the previous | January 2025 cutoff. The proposed extension for MSMEs, which have revenue of ₹250 crore or less, comes in the backdrop of less than a third of them submitting their upgrade plans, with the remaining units risking immediate closure and penalties.