IDPL gets 450 cr for revival

Hyderabad: The NDA government will be reviving the Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (IDPL) Hyderbad unit with an investment of Rs 450 crore. This was stated here on Friday by Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilisers Hansraj Gangaram Ahir. Also, the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) would get a new campus with an investment of Rs 300 crore.

The Minister said that the government had taken up a Rs 900-crore plan for revival of IDPL units in Hyderabad, Rishikesh and Gurgaon out of which 50 per cent of this sum would go towards reviving Hyderabad operations. IDPL here has 84 buildings, each with an area of 70,000 sq ft to 1 lakh sq ft and renovation of the first one with Rs 15 crore is already in progress, Ahir said adding "We will develop further in future".

Initially, medicines manufactured here would cater to requirements in Defence hospitals and those offering Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). "We have taken upon ourselves the responsibility to see that IDPL regains its past glory," he said. The plant was commissioned in 1967 which used to manufacture wide range of 47 bulk synthetic drugs like vitamins, sulphas, chloroquine, methyl dopa and analgesics from basic stages.

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER), which was set up on October 19, 2007 at IDPL Research Centre, is offering training programmes in all pharma disciplines to graduate and post graduate students. The Minister said 75 acres of land has been secured in Genome Valley in Hyderabad for a new NIPER campus, with an investment of Rs 300 crore.

A Pharma park would also be established here, he said, adding that fertiliser plant at Ramagundam in Telangana would also be revived soon. Fertiliser Corporation of India and National Fertilisers and Engineers India Ltd recently formed a joint venture to set up a Rs 5,000-crore ammonia and urea plant to be run on gas.