MSME businesses in India contribute a lot towards the exports of the
country. It is extremely important for all the MSME entrepreneurs to
become aware of all the current changes and trends that are prevalent
and supported in the current market time. Since, majority of the
industries within the MSME segment undergo some form of transition,
it requires due diligence from businesses operators as well as the Ministry
of MSME that regulates the day to day working of the sector as a whole.
The majority of the MSME businesses cater to specific segments of the
marketplace and as a result of it, bifurcation has helped identify key
pocket areas of growth and the places where there is lack of it. There
has been a recent announcement regarding Pharma MSMEs to be supported
till FY 26 under PTUAS scheme.
The PTUAS has been incorporated as a sub-scheme under the Scheme –
Strengthening of Pharmaceutical Industry (SPI), which was launched in
July 2022. This particular scheme was established for the welfare and
support of the MSME belonging to the pharmaceutical industry. Due to
the covid pandemic many of the MSMEs within the pharmaceutical
sector had to undergo many changes within and outside. This was
primarily due to the demand for particular type of pharmaceutical
needs that arose during that time period. It is important for the key
members of this sector to keep a tab on the current state of the sector
to ensure that all the participants are getting access to proper
facilities that were enabled for their benefits by the Ministry of the
MSME.
PTUAS is a credit linked scheme and under this applications are invited
from eligible Pharma MSME units since August 1, 2022. For registration
of application, online portal has been developed by SIDBI, the Project
Management Consultant (PMC) of the scheme and details are available
at https://spi.udyamimitra.in. About 60 applications from MSMEs have
been registered until now for the Pharmaceutical Technology
Upgradation Assistance Scheme (PTUAS).
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The firm establishment of this scheme and supported will lead to ease
of doing business for MSMEs belonging to the pharmaceutical sector.
According to the information that is sourced in regards to the scheme
details, MSMEs belonging to this segment will be supported either through
maximum of 5 per cent per annum (6% in case of units owned and
managed by SC/STs) of interest subvention or through credit linked
capital subsidy of 10 per cent. In both of the cases stated above, the
amount of loan is limited to Rs. 10 crores.
The Chemicals and Fertilizers ministry’s Pharmaceutical Technology
Upgradation Assistance Scheme (PTUAS), which is a part of the
government’s Strengthening of Pharmaceutical Industry (SPI) scheme,
is looking to support around 400 MSMEs in pharma sector between
FY22 and FY26. This is a huge support for the pharmaceutical
businesses that have been operating within the MSME sector.
To promote the scheme, one national and 10 state-level outreach
events have been conducted so far involving the state governments
and pharma industry associations. Among other measures for MSMEs
in the pharma sector by the government included multiple Production
Linked Incentives (PLI) schemes. For instance, the PLI scheme for
promoting domestic manufacturing of medical devices had 21
applications or projects selected so far, of which 10 applicants belonged
to MSME category.
Likewise, under the PLI scheme for pharmaceuticals, which provides for
financial incentive to applicants for manufacturing of identified
products, had 55 applicants, of which 20 were MSMEs. Also, under the
PLI scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical key
starting materials (KSMs) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs),
51 applications were selected, of which 13 were from MSMEs in the
segment.
It is very useful for the participants of the MSME sector belonging to
the pharma segment to have access supported to data that shape
their businesses and helps them create products that are relevant to
the masses. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most critical
and as well as crucial industry for the development and welfare of
the country. For a country like India consisting of over 1.5 billion people
healthcare becomes a primary case of concern. At times of global
pandemic outbreak the contribution of MSME pharma businesses are
beyond imagination.
It is thus necessary to strengthen the overall condition of the pharma
segment that is belonging to the MSME sector. The sub-scheme PTUAS
is aimed to facilitate MSMEs of proven track record to meet national
and international regulatory standards (WHO-GMP or Schedule-M),
interest subvention or capital subsidy on their capital loans will be
provided, which will further facilitate the growth in volumes as well as
in quality and it is envisaged to support about 400 Pharma MSME units
under this sub-scheme during the scheme tenure.
PTUAS Scheme being a new scheme for MSME has proven that there
can be many more such schemes that can contribute towards other key
areas of MSMEs that require improvement. MSME pharma schemes are
very essential to meet the demands of the business operators within
the MSME sector as they are the primary people who run these
enterprises. The approval of new loan funds helps these MSMEs to
embrace newer and advanced technological means to develop their
products that will be later used for critical pharmaceutical operations.
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The MSME sector has many cases of businesses that fall apart due to
inadequate funding even after producing high quality goods. Such
instance does not help the industry move forward and creates a
negative impression on the mind of new participants that are planning
to enter the sector. Robust funding rounds and easy access to capital
can prove to be a boon for some of these pharma MSMEs.
It is only time that will reveal the real possibilities that enabled the
pharma MSMEs to outperform top players that were present already in
the sector and yet deliver results at par with current standards and thus
help the MSME pharma ecosystem to grow further and ultimately help
the Indian MSME industry moving forward.