category Regional, shimla, , tags Regional, shimla, , DW BUREAU Shimla Chief Minister, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said here today that the State Government participated in the country s largest pharma-expo and 17 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) amounting to Rs. 2110 crore were signed on this occasion. The Chief Minister has expressed his pleasure in the intent of investors to invest in the state. He assured full support and commitment by the State Government to facilitate the investors in grounding the proposed projects in a time-bound manner, thereby ensuring that Himachal always remains the preferred investment destination. Himachal Pradesh showcased the pharma ecosystem of the state to invite potential pharma device players for investments in the upcoming Bulk Drug Park and Medical Devices Park in the State. Himachal Pradesh is the only State in the country that is developing both 1405.41 acres Bulk Drug Park at Una and 300 acres Medical Devices Park at Nalagarh. Industries Minister, Harshwardhan Chauhan inaugurated the Himachal Pavilion at Pharma Live Expo, Mumbai on Thursday. MLA, Shudhir Sharma, Suresh Kumar, Malender Rajan, Ajay Solanki, Principal Secretary Industries, R.D. Nazeem, Additional Director Industries, Tilak Raj Sharma, Joint Director Industries, Anshul Dhiman, General Manager E Y, Sakshi Satti and Project Lead E Y, Sumit Sagar Dogra and officers of industries department were also present on the occasion. Organizers of the Indian Drug Manufacturing Association (IDMA) and Himachal Drug Manufacturing Association (HDMA) honoured the Industries Minister. The Industries Minister evinced keen interest to visit the stalls that displayed innovative and new technology and also appreciated the efforts of the Himachal-based units participating in the Expo. He said that the state government will provide liberal incentives and highly subsidized utility rates for manufacturers in Bulk Drug Park and Medical Devices Park. Harshwardhan Chauhan also briefed about the State s pharma ecosystem, emphasizing the successful working of more than 630 pharma manufacturing units, exporting pharma formulations worth Rs. 10,000 crore. He also highlighted the need for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) manufacturing in the State, as there is an annual demand for bulk drug worth Rs. 35,000 crore. This will not only provide impetus to the pharma ecosystem but also save precious foreign exchange through import substitution. Government to Business (G2B) meetings were also held with big pharma players such as Aishwarya India Healthcare, Scott Edil, Emcure, DBP Pharma group expressed their intent to setup their industrial units in the upcoming Bulk Drug Park and Medical Devices Park. Lupin Limited, one of the biggest pharma players also met the government delegation and expressed its interest in setting up a fermentation-based API unit in the upcoming Bulk Drug Park. (editor dailyworld.in)