Telangana seeks Central aid for Pharma City

KTR writes to Union Minister to allocate Rs 870 cr for 2021-22 fiscal against Central funding of Rs 4,922 cr

Hyderabad: IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao on Wednesday said the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had recognised the importance of Hyderabad Pharma City project to make India self-reliant in the pharmaceutical sector and had already accorded the status of National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ).

“The project has received an overwhelming response from both domestic and global companies to set-up manufacturing units. Overall investment potential of the project is estimated to be around Rs 64,000 crore, with employment generation of 5.6 lakh jobs (direct and indirect),” Rama Rao said in a letter to Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to press for special funds.

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The Minister requested for allocation of at least Rs 870 crore for the 2021-22 financial year towards Hyderabad Pharma City against funding of Rs 4,922 crore sought from the Centre to develop external and internal infrastructure as per the NIMZ guidelines. He stated that the Pharma City promises to position India as the global manufacturing hub for pharmaceuticals and the Centre’s strong support was imperative for a project of such nature and scale to succeed.

“The State government reassures its commitment towards the development of a world- class Hyderabad Pharma City and promoting competitive domestic manufacturing of pharmaceuticals under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Union government,” he added.

Further, the National Industrial Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) at Zaheerabad in Sangareddy district got its final approval from the Union Commerce Ministry in January 2016. The required land (Phase-I) is already in possession of the implementing agency i.e Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC).

Accordingly, the State government had sought initial funding of Rs 500 crore for Phase-I development works towards external and internal infrastructure to be taken up with a total expenditure of Rs 9,500 crore. “We request the Union government to release the proposed budget during the financial year 2021-22 for the external and internal infrastructure for the NIMZ-Zaheerabad,” he said.

Rs 200 cr capex for NDC

In another letter, Rama Rao requested budgetary allocations for the National Design Centre (NDC), stating that Hyderabad was proposed as the preferred location for setting up the first National Design Centre (NDC) by DPIIT. He also pointed out that his team was working closely with DPIIT to understand their vision of the NDC and have already submitted a detailed project report with inputs from all National Institute of Designs (NIDs).

“We are very keen to develop this unique institution in Hyderabad and have also identified 30 acres of prime land in University of Hyderabad campus, adjacent to National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) in Gopanpally. This land will be offered free of cost by the State. Certain clarifications were sought by DPIIT which have also been answered by us,” said Minister Rama Rao.

He sought a budget allocation of Rs 200 crore towards the initial Capex in the budget of financial year 2021-22 which will enable the State government to start the developmental activities immediately.

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