A first: Firm gets govt nod to process opium

Bajaj Healthcare to extract alkaloids for medicines; government brings in private sector as two state-owned plants are unable to meet demand

- SOHINI DAS

The central government has for the first time allowed a private company, Bajaj Healthcare, to process opium to extract alkaloids used to make pain-killers, cough syrups, and even cancer drugs.

Two government factories in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, do the work yet, processing some 800 tonnes of opium gum annually to extract alkaloids.

The government on Tuesday gave Thane-based Bajaj Healthcare an initial contract to process 500 tonnes of opium gum annually and wants production to be at 800 tonnes per annum (tpa) in the next five years, indicating the state's exit from the highly-regulated sector.

"We have been awarded two tenders for the supply of opium-derived Alkaloids & APIs to the GoI [government of India], under-long term contracts and expect successive orders under similar tenders, to scale up to processing of around 6,000 tonnes of Poppy Straw and Opium Gum in the next 5 years," the company said in a statement.