New Delhi, July 22 (IANS) The government on Tuesday said that it has approved 48 projects under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs) /Drug Intermediates (DIs) and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in India.

The scheme aims to avoid disruption in supply of critical active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used to make critical drugs for which there are no alternatives by reducing supply disruption risk due to excessive dependence on single source, said Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Anupriya Patel, in Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question.

Products notified and approved under the scheme prior to commencement of production under the PLI scheme were primarily imported.

As of December 2024, against an investment commitment of Rs 3,938.5 crore over the period of six years, investment of Rs 4,254 crore has already been made under the scheme.

As a result of the scheme, cumulative sales of Rs 1,556 crore have been reported over the period from the beginning of the scheme till December 2024, including exports of Rs 412 crore, thereby avoiding imports worth Rs 1,144 crore and creating domestic manufacturing capacity for 25 identified KSMs/DIs/APIs.

Number of measures were taken to enhance awareness and encourage participation in the scheme at the time of the launch of the scheme and various rounds of invitation of applications under it, said the minister.

These are conducting of webinars and stakeholder consultation meetings with industry associations and potential applicants; issuing of press releases, detailed guidelines, clarifications in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers thereto and scheme notifications on official websites;

Regular outreach through social media campaigns; provision of dedicated helpdesk support and query resolution mechanisms through the scheme portal; and issue of press releases and hosting of the same on government websites.

—IANS

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