INDIA RAMPING UP PRODUCTION
India is ramping up production of hydroxychloroquine to 20 crore units a week
India manufactures 70 percent of the world's supply of hydroxychloroquine.
BOOST PRODUCTION
The demand for anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has increased in India and worldwide to treat COVID-19 patients. To deal with the growing demand, two of the leading pharmaceutical companies for HCQ in india - Zydus Cadila and IPCA laboratories - have boosted the production 10 times on government orders.
BUT A QUESTION REMAINS
Why Can't India make Medicine without China's help?
The novel corona-virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has reveal India's over dependence on China for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) -- also known as bulk drugs -defined by the World Health Organization as any substances used in finished pharmaceutical products.
INDIA DEPENDENCE
Two-thirds of the total imports of bulk drugs or drug intermediaries that India uses come from China
CONCERNS BEFORE LOCKDOWN
The fear of not receiving the required number of APIs from China was so huge that policy makers scrambled to order several measures just before the 21-day nationwide lockdown was announced.
The Union government announced the constitution of a committee under the chairmanship o EShwara Reddy, Joint Drugs Controller, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in March to address the issue of drug security in the country.
MANY HAVE BEEN WARNING ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS
In 2014 national security Adviser Ajit Doval had warned that Chinese dependence on API can be a national security threat.
NO ACTION TAKEN IN YEARS
The UPA government had constituted a committee under VM Katoch in 2013 on this issue. The report, submitted in 2015, suggested several measures including the establishment of exclusive parks.
A draft policy had also emerged in 2017 over this. No progress was, however, made on this draft, with nothing changing on ground.
WHAT IS STOPPING INDIA?
The central pollution control board identified the API sector as one among 18 highly-polluting industries in the country.
The Indian industry was forced to follow stringent environment regulation and fight red tape.
WHAT INDIA NEEDS TO DO?
India needs technology that ensures less pollution and cheap raw materials to compete with Chinese companies.
To do this Government should help private pharma companies by giving them cheaper land, soft loans and other.
A long term strategy and a clear-cut policy for all possible situations will need to be chalked out.
The government should also push public sector institutions to invest in technology.
