UP govt’s ‘fully state-funded pharma park’ invites centres from Gujarat pharma industry

Mayur Maheshwari, CEO of the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) and an IAS officer, addressed industry stakeholders and highlighted the park’s strategic importance in reducing India’s dependence on China for bulk drug production.

Appealing directly to the Gujarat pharma industry, he said, “We’ve come to Ahmedabad, which has shown the way for India. We request you to set up a parallel centre (in UP). We are more than ready to welcome you with open arms and we hope to match and provide even better facilities…”

“We have had this vacuum of bulk drugs and formulation in India. About 60% of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) are imported from China. This dependence is not only strategic, but it is a challenge to our entrepreneurs. If China can do it, why not UP and the rest of India?” Maheshwari said.

During an interaction with the press, Maheshwari said that Gujarat was an important link for the Bulk Drug Pharma Park for its connectivity to the ports.

Invoking cultural and spiritual references, Maheshwari said, “This is the land of Shri Ram, Shri Krishna and Shri Buddha. When these three powers are present in a state, in a country, there can only be prosperity.”

He praised the Yogi Adityanath-led government’s leadership, citing the “successful” hosting of the Mahakumbh, where 67 crore people had the opportunity to take the holy dip and that it “went very well”.

“This is the first completely state-funded pharma park. All the money is from the UP government. We don’t need to approach the Centre. Himachal Pradesh got a bulk drug pharma park in 2020-21 which is a non starter. In Andhra Pradesh, it has been four years and it is still just starting out… For allocation of resources and funding, we will do this on our own, which has not been possible even in Andhra and Gujarat,” said Maheshwari.

When asked about skilled manpower by a stakeholder, Maheshwari said, “We have developed a Promote Pharma initiative, which is a Section 8 company to strengthen and develop capacity building. It will invite the best professionals and will have industry, academia and govt linkage. Need-based professionals will come from there. We are also trying to get a National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in UP, to add to this ecosystem.”

What the park will offer — infrastructure, discounts on land prices

The Bulk Drug Pharma Park is coming up in Lalitpur district, located near the geographic centre of India. Delegation members highlighted that Uttar Pradesh has 14 airports, six of them international, and a dedicated helipad is also planned within the park. Additionally, both the Eastern and Western dedicated Railway Freight Corridors pass through the state, further strengthening connectivity.

In the first phase, the UP government is developing 352 acres of the park. Officials said that 1,500 acre were already available for future expansion and that the park can be scaled up to 5,000 acres if needed.

Maheshwari said, “Lalitpur was also chosen because it is important to avail environmental clearance (EC) for the bulk drug and API industries. This place has less habitation. We have already got the EC. Masterplan is also approved and facility building work is already underway.”

Of the park’s total area, 67% is reserved for industry, 13% for green spaces, and the rest for support infrastructure and common facilities.

Comparing it to other pharma parks in other states, Maheshwari said, “We have lab testing, R&D incubation facilities, common climate controlled warehouses and technical regulatory support. We have these facilities which are missing in other places like Genome Park in Telangana and Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City in Vizag of Andhra Pradesh.”

On land pricing, he explained, “We are giving land on a 90 year lease at Rs 75-77 lakh per acre but those setting up anchor units on 35-50 acre land will get 10% more discount. Basically, it is at Rs 1,700 per square metre of land for anchor units and Rs 1,914 per square metre for normal units. There is a 2% additional waiver if you make a full one-time payment.”

Maheshwari said the park’s incentives fall under the UP Pharma and Medical Devices Policy 2023 and include capital and interest subsidies, stamp duty exemption, patent and clinical trial support, a 10-year electricity duty waiver, and subsidies for quality certifications.

Asked when companies can start operations, Maheshwari said, “Right now.”