BJP-led Centre, Congress government stall Vaccine Capital’s pharma growth

Despite its status as a global leader in pharmaceuticals and life sciences, Telangana continues to face setbacks in securing national support for its industry. The Centre's rejection of Telangana’s plea for a bulk drug park, in favor of other states, has sparked allegations of political discrimination.

Hyderabad: For long, Telangana’s capital Hyderabad has been called the vaccine capital of the world. The State is home to a bustling life sciences hub and a highly successful medical devices park as well.

‘Made in Telangana’ stents and catheters are being exported to 89 countries, with the State also being a key contributor to pharma exports from the country.

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But still, the Centre does not think Telangana is worthy of more support. Proof? For several years, Telangana has repeatedly asked the Union government to allot a bulk drug park to the State.

Despite being a major player in the pharma sector, the BJP-led Centre chose to ignore these appeals and instead approved greenfield bulk drug park projects for Nakkapalli in Andhra Pradesh, Bharuch in Gujarat, and Una in Himachal Pradesh under the Scheme for Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks.

Former Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, obviously upset over this, had in 2022 said the selection of Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat over Telangana was the hallmark of the Modi government’s discriminatory politics.

The discrimination is inexplicable, more so because many companies from across the world, that are into manufacturing of generics and active pharmaceutical ingredients, have made Telangana their home. The State also has the world’s largest number of USFDA-approved facilities in a single province at 214, surpassing New Jersey’s 189. Telangana exports vaccines and pharma products to more than 150 countries, a figure no other State, not Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat or Himachal Pradesh, can match.

If that was how the BJP-led Centre played its role in stunting the State’s pharma sector growth, the Congress government that came to power here in 2023 has been no different, as is evident from what is happening, or not happening, with the prestigious Pharma City project.

Sensing more scope for promoting the pharma sector in the State, the previous BRS government had proposed the Pharma City, spread over 19,000 acres in Rangareddy district, with the goal of making it the world’s largest pharma cluster. The idea was to offer plug-and-play services to pharma companies and secure more investments into the State, besides generating employment.

Even the Centre had recognised the Hyderabad Pharma City project as a ‘Project of National Importance’ and accorded it National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) status.

However, after Congress came to power in the State, there has been nothing but uncertainty over the Pharma City. Though the Congress government stated in the High Court that the Pharma City project was very much under consideration, not a single pharma unit has been set up so far. In fact, the lands acquired for Pharma City are allegedly being used for other purposes.

The State government had to give a clarification to the High Court after farmers who parted with their lands for Pharma City demanded the Congress government return their lands if it was planning to go for 10 pharma villages, as Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu had announced on different occasions.

Now, even the pharma villages plan has failed to take off, with farmers vehemently opposing the idea and refusing to part with their lands. After the Lagacherla farmers put up a fight against forcible land acquisition for a pharma village, the State government had to issue a fresh notification for acquisition, this time, for a multi-purpose industrial park.

Though the Congress government has said it would continue with the Pharma City, calling it Green Pharma City, the action on the ground has not been in sync and the Pharma City still remains on paper, just like Telangana’s dream of a bulk drug park.