Kishan to discuss plans for pharma university in Hyderabad with Modi

Hyderabad: Union minister G. Kishan Reddy said that the centre would provide financial assistance to improve the common infrastructure facilities in the proposed ‘bulk drug park’ in the city. He said he would take up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the need for setting up a pharma university here.

Kishan Reddy said that the Centre had allocated `15,000 crore to promote the local manufacturing sector. The pharmaceutical technology upgradation scheme was helping the local pharma industry to achieve global standards.

Reddy said that exports of pharma products ranked fifth among commodities and accounted for five per cent of the country’s exports. Pharma exports touched `1.83 lakh crore in the last financial year, of which `67,000 crore worth of pharma products were to the United States, he said.

Stating that the Centre was giving highest priority for the health sector, Reddy said that India now had 707 medical colleges as against 388 in 2014 and MBBS seats had increased from 51,348 seats in 2014 to 1,09,000 seats. Medical PG seats had increased by 127 per cent, he said.

Pointing out that bolstering the transport sector has contributed to the growth of pharma and other industries in the country, the minister said that allocations for transport and highway infrastructure had increased by 500% in the last 10 years. It was likewise with the railways which is to develop a 3,000 km dedicated freight corridor to facilitate easy transportation of goods. The increase in power demand from 133 Gigawatts in 2014 to the present 244 Gigawatts, also indicates growth of the industry in the country, he said.