Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said here on Friday that 17 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) amounting to Rs 2,110 crore were signed by the state government at the country’s largest pharma-expo at Mumbai.

Expressing pleasure over 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 1,405.41 acre 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.

Organisers of the Indian Drug Manufacturing Association (IDMA) and Himachal Drug Manufacturing Association (HDMA) honoured the Industries Minister and the delegation accompanying him.

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.

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 set up 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.

Leading Film Industry Director and Producer, Anil Sharma also expressed his intent to set up a film city in Himachal Pradesh.

The Industries Minister invited him to come up with a concrete proposal for investment in the state.

The new management of Sukam Power Systems also expressed its will to invest Rs. 300 crores in Electric vehicles and its components project.

Earlier, MoUs were signed by the Director Industries, Rakesh Kumar Prajapati on the behalf of the state government with heads of various industrial houses.