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The budget outlay for the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) and the schemes running under its aegis has been increased by around 40 per cent in the year 2023-24 as compared to the budget estimates for the previous year, mainly owing to the expected increase in allocation for promotion of bulk drug parks and medical devices parks, among others.
According to the Demands for Grants released by the Union finance ministry for the next fiscal year, the Budget Estimate (BE) for the DoP for the year 2023-24 is Rs. 3,160.06 crore, up from Rs. 2,244.15 crore BE during the year 2022-23. The revised estimate for the year 2022-23 was Rs. 2,268.54 crore, a slight increase from the estimates for the year.
The jump in the budget estimates for the coming financial year is mainly due to the allocation of Rs. 900 crore for promotion of bulk drug parks and Rs. 200 crore for the promotion of medical device parks under the development of pharmaceutical industry scheme, which were not present in the previous years. The development of pharmaceutical industry scheme is expected to see the total allocation growing to Rs. 1,250 crore in 2023-24, as against Rs. 100 crore in 2022-23 (BE) which has seen a decline to Rs. 36 crore in the revised estimates later.
The National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs), under the Central Sector Schemes, will see a significant growth of around 57 per cent in allocation to Rs. 550 crore during the fiscal 2023-24, as compared to Rs. 350 crore allocated for the year 2022-23. The revised estimates for the year 2022-23 for NIPER has seen an increase to Rs. 377 crore, says the data from the Finance Ministry. The provision is made for seven NIPERs, which are Mohali, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Hajipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Rae Bareli, for incurring salary of employees, establishment and other expenditure.
The total Budget Estimate for the Central Sector Schemes and Projects expenditure will have 44.6 per cent more allocation during FY24, as compared to the previous fiscal year. The Central Sector Schemes and projects will together see an expenditure of Rs. 3,120 crore, compared to Rs. 2,157.50 crore estimated for the fiscal 2022-23.
The allocation for production linked incentive schemes, under the Central Sector Schemes and Projects, will see a lower allocation of Rs. 1,200 crore during the fiscal, as compared to Rs. 1,629 crore in the BE of 2022-23, mainly due to the shifting of allocation for promotion of bulk drug parks and promotion of medical devices parks to the scheme of development of pharmaceutical industry.
However, the allocation for 2023-24 will see a significant jump in allocation for the PLI scheme for pharmaceuticals at Rs. 1,000 crore as compared to the allocation of Rs. 3 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23. It may also be noted that the revised estimates for the scheme for the year 2022-23 was Rs. 694.2 crore, as compared to the BE of Rs. 3 crore.
Meanwhile, the allocation for the PLI scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical key starting materials (KSMs)/drug intermediates (DIs) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in India has been fixed as Rs. 100 crore for the fiscal, as compared to Rs. 390 crore estimated for the year 2022-23. Out of the estimate for the fiscal, only Rs. 14.61 crore was reported as the expenditure under the revised estimate for the scheme. Until December 2022, a total of 51 applicants were approved with committed investment of Rs. 4,138.4 crore, for the scheme.
The allocation for the PLI scheme for domestic manufacturing of medical devices has also been fixed at Rs. 100 crore for the year 2023-24 as against Rs. 216 crore in the Budget Estimates for 2022-23. The revised estimates for the year 2022-23 shows that the expenditure under this scheme was Rs. 21.56 crore. Until December 2022, a total of 21 applicants were approved with committed investments of Rs. 1,058.97 crore under the scheme.
Jan Aushadhi Scheme, which promotes affordable drugs through Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana(PMBJP), will have around 60 per cent more allocation at Rs. 115 crore as compared to Rs. 75.5 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23. The revised estimates of the 2022-23 budget already shows an increased expenditure of Rs. 100 crore under the scheme during the year.
The secretariat and establishment expenditure for the DoP is expected to see a slight increase from Rs. 18.56 crore in 2022-23 to Rs. 21.10 crore in the coming fiscal year, while for National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), it may see a minor increase from Rs. 17.79 crore to Rs. 18.90 crore during the same period.
The investment in the seven public sector undertakings including Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd, Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Bengal Immunity Ltd, Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, and Smith Stanistreet Pharmaceuticals Ltd will be brought down to Rs 1 lakh each except for KAPL, which will not be getting the support, for 2023-24. The Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources expenditure for these institutions together will be around Rs. 143.50 crore during the period, as compared to Rs. 139 crore under the revised estimates for the year 2022-23.
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