Select food items to attract less excise duty

Select food items to attract less excise dutyVrishti Beniwal / New Delhi March 30, 2011, 0:03 IST
Food inflation may have been a key factor behind Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s decision to give partial tax relief on some of the 130 items that were brought under the tax ambit in the Budget. Tea, coffee, ketchup, soup, food mixes, flavoured milk, coconut water and ready-to-eat packaged food are some of the major items in the list of 35 items to get 35 per cent abatement on the excise levy of one per cent.

In the Budget tabled in Parliament last month, the government had proposed to levy one per cent central excise duty on 130 items to prepare ground for the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax. However, in his reply to the Finance Bill last week, Mukherjee offered an abatement of 35 per cent to many of these items “so that disputes with regard to valuation are avoided”.

Food inflation, which was expected to moderate after remaining high for several weeks, reversed gears by entering into double digits at 10.05 per cent for the week ended March 12, as fruits and some vegetables turned expensive due to the onset of summers. Headline inflation, measured by the wholesale price index, also rose marginally in February to 8.31 per cent from 8.23 per cent a month ago. This was contrary to the expectations that inflation would fall below eight per cent in the month.


Other than foods items, the relief has been given mostly in the areas of medicine and stationary. The 35 per cent abatement has been given on items health and hygiene items like medicaments (including those used in ayurvedic, unani, siddha, homeopathic or biochemic systems), vaccines, nipples for feeding bottles, surgical rubber gloves, and water filters functioning without electricity and replaceable kits.

The stationary items to get the abatement include ink, mathematical boxes, geometry boxes and colour boxes, pencil, sharpeners. On the technology side, abatement has been extended to mobile handsets including cellular phones and radio trunking terminals, wireless data modem cards, recorded audio compact discs, recorded video compact discs, recorded digital video discs and recorded audio cassettes.

Tooth powder, candles, betel nut (supari), and intravenous fluids used for sugar, electrolyte or fluid replenishment are some other items to get the abatement.

Some items like pens, pencils, crayons, drawing chalks, sports goods, lanterns, some military weapons, mathematical calculating instruments, spectacles and lenses, bicycles, sewing machines and needles, kerosene stoves, roofing and ceramic tiles, sand lime bricks, laminated jute bags, and adhesive tapes, among others, will continue to attract excise duty at one per cent.

Team inspects Siddha Medical College

Team inspects Siddha Medical College

Staff Reporter

TIRUNELVELI: A three-member team from Central Council of Indian Medicine under the Department of AYUSH, Government of India, visited the Government Siddha Medical College in Palayamkottai, on Tuesday to ascertain the infrastructure facilities available in the college.

The team comprising of Dr. Kalyanasundaram, Dr. Parthibhan and Dr. Kanagavalli inspected the facilities such as equipments in the laboratory, classrooms, furniture, faculty strength, vacancies etc. The team will submit a report shortly.

The students, who submitted a memorandum to the team, said the college had been lacking in drinking water facilities, a well-equipped hostel for post-graduate students, full-fledged herbal garden etc.

The move to shift the Survey of Medicinal Plants unit from the Government Siddha Medical College here to the premises of a private college at Salem would certainly blow a death knell to the prospects of conducting post graduate programmes here, they said
Courtesy: the hindhu

MCD committee to look into formation of AYUSH dept

MCD committee to look into formation of AYUSH dept
PTI | 09:03 PM,Mar 28,2011

New Delhi, Mar 28 (PTI) The MCD, which plans to set up a separate directorate of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH), today constituted a committee to look into some issues related to the formation of the department. The MCD had recently decided to form the directorate of AYUSH to streamline treatment facilities provided by it under Indian systems of medicine. At present, AYUSH is under the supervision of Director, Hospital Administration, MCD. According to the proposal, the new directorate will consist of a Director (AYUSH) while three deputy directors will be re-designated as Additional Director (Ayurveda), Additional Director (Unani) and Additional Director (Homeopathy). However, due to opposition from some quarters, the civic body has to set up a committee that will look at the issues and make amendments wherever required. "Certain segments had some problem with a few clauses in the proposal so we have set up a committee under V K Monga, the Chairman of MCD Public Health Committee," Delhi Mayor Prithvi Raj Sawhney said. Separate directorates for AYUSH have already been set up by Delhi government as well as the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

Dept of Ayush to hold nationwide survey on usage, acceptability of Ayush drugs soon

Dept of Ayush to hold nationwide survey on usage, acceptability of Ayush drugs soon

Joseph Alexander, New Delhi
Monday, March 28, 2011, 08:00 Hrs [IST]


Department of Ayush will launch the much-delayed comprehensive survey on the usage and accessibility of drugs of different streams like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy to further streamline them into national mainstream programmes and help formulate policies and strategies.


The survey, which has been pending since the 10th Five Year Plan, is expected to begin from July 2011 and would conclude by June 2012, and modalities had been completed, sources said. “Survey is going to assess the status of Ayush systems in the country officially and would help immensely to formulate the policies and strategies in the future,” a senior official said.


The idea of such a survey was first proposed for completing during the 10th Plan period itself, but could not make any progress. Though the Government sanctioned Rs.66 lakhs for this purpose in budget for the current year, no further action was taken.


“The delay was mainly due to finalization of an agency/institution having capacity and competence for conducting nation-wide household survey. Latest position is that the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) has been requested to undertake the survey for Ayush along with their Socio-Economic Survey,” official said. The Health Department has also been requested to include such a survey in the next National Health and Family Welfare Survey.


“Initially NSSO conveyed that they may not conduct this survey for Ayush before 2014. Department of Ayush further approached to National Statistical Commission to persuade the NSSO for undertaking Ayush survey with forthcoming annual round of SE Survey. Now NSC in its meetings in May last year decided that the request for a survey by Ayush could be accommodated by adding questions in the Consumer Expenditure Survey Schedule,” the official added.

Panel Slams Rural Health Scheme Implementation

Panel Slams Rural Health Scheme Implementation


New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) The implementation of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) came under sharp attack from a parliamentary committee Thursday, with the health ministry being asked to carry out a "complete re-appraisal and restructuring" of the project.

In its report on the NRHM presented to parliament, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Murli Manohar Joshi also lamented that the government's expenditure on public health was merely 1.1 percent of the GDP.

An "appalled" PAC also noted that the per capita expenditure in India on public health was still worse at $7, even less than that of neighbouring Sri Lanka at $30.

"It is a joke on rural health," Joshi said at a media interaction on the state of the NRHM scheme, which was started in April 2005 with the objective of providing "accessible, affordable and effective" public health care facilities in rural India.

The PAC, in its report, said it was dismayed to note that health centres at various levels were being used as foodgrain godowns, community halls, local offices or cow sheds in many of the 18 states where the NRHM is being implemented.

It said the health centres also lacked necessary infrastructure, doctors, medical supplies and trained health workers.

"The committee apprehended that the goal of universal health care to all the citizens as envisaged in the mission may remain a pious platitude and a distant dream unless the budgetary outlays for the NRHM for both the terminal year of 11th plan and for the 12th plan period are scaled up significantly commensurate with the problem," it added.

The PAC also recommended that the Department of Ayush should be converted into a full-fledged ministry and for the promotion of indigenous systems of medicine such as ayurveda, unani, siddha, naturopathy, homeopathy and yoga in rural areas.

It also emphasised the formulation of a five-year special plan for the Ayush department to encourage cultivation of herbal medicines for domestic consumption and export.
 

EmTech India 2011 India to have local version of Bayh-Dole Act

EmTech India 2011
 
India to have local version of Bayh-Dole Act
 
Tuesday, March 22, 2011

BANGALORE, INDIA: India has been witnessing a change in research and development in the last 20 years.

"The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980s in USA has created waves in innovation in public sector. India is working on local version of the Bayh-Dole Act which will drive the public sector innovation. And I hope India will soon have its local version of the act,” said Dr D. Balasubramanian, director of Research, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad.

Dr D. Balasubramanian, was speaking at a panel discussion on Activating the Innovation at Emtech India 2011, emerging technologies conference organized by MIT's Technology Review, the world's oldest technology publication, and CyberMedia, India's leading technology publisher, in Bangalore.

Professor Udaykumar Ranga, speaking on developments made by the team at Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Science Research, Bangalore on developing HIV vaccine said, “India can look at utilizing the expertises gained in traditional medicine such as ayurveda, unani, siddha medicines over thousands of years, in developing poly herbal medicine for HIV. ”

WIPO and India Partner to Protect Traditional Knowledge from Misappropriation

AGIPNEWS8862

22/3/2011 08:06 GMT
ag-IP-news

WIPO and India Partner to Protect Traditional Knowledge from Misappropriation
GENEVA/NEW DELHI - Representatives from 35 countries are in Delhi this week to explore how the success of India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) - a landmark project which protects India’s centuries-old traditional knowledge (TK) from misappropriation – could be emulated by interested countries.

In a statement to the three-day International Conference on the Utilization of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library as a Model for Protection of Traditional Knowledge, co-organized by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which opened on March 22, 2011, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry welcomed international cooperation in the fight against the misappropriation of TK. According to WIPO, this was echoed by India’s Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, and Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Bansal informed the conference that international agreements with major patent offices around the world on the TKDL has been successful in challenging bids to misappropriate Indian TK, saying TKDL has been ”an immensely effective tool for the protection of TK…a powerful weapon to fight biopiracy.” The Minister said India is prepared to work with WIPO and interested countries in sharing its expertise on TKDL.

Bansal welcomed WIPO’s initiative to organize an international conference on TKDL, and the Organization’s commitment to offer technical expertise in this area. As Minister responsible for CSIR, Bansal assured participants “all cooperation will be extended to all of you, in particular, to WIPO, so that countries rich in traditional knowledge and biodiversity, desirous of adopting TKDL as a model of traditional knowledge protection, are able to do so.”

Gurry praised India’s leadership in taking domestic and international action to combat misappropriation of the wealth of knowledge contained in its traditional medicine systems, such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga.

He described the TKDL approach as complementary to the work currently underway in WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, where WIPO’s 184 member states are negotiating an international legal instrument to ensure the effective protection of TK and traditional cultural expressions, and to regulate the interface between IP and genetic resources.

“The IGC’s negotiations are about developing the international legal architecture. In parallel, however, there is an important supplementary role for practical initiatives, which can change the international landscape often faster than legislative or normative approaches,” said Gurry, noting “The TKDL is an excellent example of a technical platform which can work alongside legislative frameworks and support them. The TKDL is distinct from - but complementary to - the negotiations taking place in the IGC.”

The Indian TKDL project, developed over a ten year period, documented knowledge about traditional medical treatments and the curative properties of plants, which was contained in ancient texts and languages, and classified the information in a searchable database. The TKDL now contains 34 million pages in five international languages. By making this information available, via Access and Non-Disclosure Agreements, to six major international patent offices, the TKDL, coupled with India’s global bio-piracy watch system, has, according to the CSIR, achieved dramatic success in preventing the grant of erroneous patents, at minimal direct cost and in a matter of a few weeks.

Gurry said that India’s TKDL could be a good model for others and that WIPO was ready to facilitate international collaboration for countries which, inspired by the Indian example, were interested in establishing their own TKDLs. He cautioned however that there is no one-size-fits-all solution and that the Indian model might need to be adapted to the specific situation of individual countries, in particular where a community’s TK is held orally.

The Director General observed that “The Indian Government holds the experience, expertise and technology in establishing TKDLs and has expressed a willingness to make this know-how available to other interested countries, for them to use and adapt as they see fit ” WIPO, with its international contacts and expertise in identifying and managing the IP implications of documenting TK, as well as in ensuring coherence between such practical initiatives and the normative negotiations in the IGC, is ready to support these initiatives if countries so wish and catalyze collaborative partnerships if so requested.

The Director General said WIPO is in consultations with the Government to "internationalize" the TKDL" - to help make available the Indian Government’s TKDL experience and know-how to other countries which plan to create their own TKDLs. He said WIPO is prepared to assist beneficiary countries, should they so wish, to conclude access and non-disclosure agreements with international patent offices. Beneficiary countries would own and control access to their own TKDLs.”

CSIR Director General Samir K. Brahmachari and Director of the TKDL V.K Gupta reiterated India’s willingness to work with countries interested in similar models to protect their TK. Mr. Brahmachari said the challenge for the New Delhi meeting and beyond is to ensure that the great treasures represented in a nation’s TK is to ensure this knowledge serves future generations.

About the Conference

• The International Conference on the Utilization of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library as a Model for Protection of Traditional Knowledge,is organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in cooperation with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in New Delhi, India, from March 22 to 24, 2011.

• The objectives of the Conference are to:

• share experiences and information on the role of a TKDL in the documentation of traditional knowledge (TK);

• identify the intellectual property (IP) issues in and technical implications of the establishment of a TKDL; and

• explore the role and functioning of the TKDL within the international IP protection system.

• Representatives from some 35 countries are taking part in the meeting. All WIPO member states, and in particular patent offices that have TKDL Access and Non-disclosure Agreements with the CSIR have been invited.

• Local speakers will explain the origins, establishment and functioning of the TKDL. There will also be presentations on the international patent system and the TKDL, IP and the TKDL as a model for protection and on the negotiations currently underway in WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. Discussions on the policy and practical considerations for the establishment of TKDLs in other countries are also expected to take place.

• A number of WIPO member states have expressed interest in learning from the experience, expertise and technology related to the TKDL. This will be discussed at the conference as it might not be possible to replicate India’s experience in other countries. In countries where indigenous peoples and local communities are recognized as holders of TK, wide consultations and adherence to the principle of free, prior and informed consent might be essential. In countries where TK is mainly oral, additional steps might have to be added to collect and record TK.

• There are also, in some quarters, political concerns associated with TK documentation projects, which are perceived by some as “facilitating biopiracy”, since documentation projects may facilitate access to TK that was not publicly available before or TK that had been disclosed without the free, prior and informed consent of affected indigenous and local communities.

• After fighting successfully for the revocation of turmeric and basmati patents granted by United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and neem patent granted by European Patent Office (EPO), India initiated its project for the creation of a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) in 2001.

• The TKDL is a collaborative project between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, of India, and is being implemented at CSIR. An inter-disciplinary team of Traditional Medicine (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga) experts, patent examiners, IT experts, scientists and technical officers were involved in the creation of the TKDL for Indian Systems of Medicine. The TKDL project involves documentation of the TK publicly available in the form of existing literature related to Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga, in digitized format in five international languages which are English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish. It now contains over 34 million pages. The TKDL provides information on traditional knowledge existing in the country, in languages and format understandable by patent examiners at International Patent Offices (IPOs), so as to prevent the granting of erroneous patents.

• The TKDL seeks to prevent the granting of patents over products developed utilizing TK where there has been little, if any, inventive step. The TKDL is intended to act as a bridge between information recorded in ancient Sanskrit and a patent examiner, since the database provides information in a language and format understandable to patent examiners. By facilitating access to information not easily available to patent examiners, the TKDL minimizes the possibility of patenting “inventions” for minor/insignificant modifications.

• TKDL contains information for patent examiners on prior art which would otherwise be available only in Sanskrit and other local languages in Indian libraries and it will precisely list the time, place and medium of publication for prior art search of patent examiners.

• Access to the TKDL database was granted to EPO in February 2009, the India Patent Office (CGPDTM) in July 2009, to the German Patent Office (DPMA) in October 2009, to USPTO in November 2009, to the United Kingdom Patent and Trademark Office in February 2010, to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office in September 2010 and to IP Australia in January 2011. These patent offices are allowed to utilize the TKDL for prior art searches and patent examinations. However, patent offices cannot reveal the contents of the TKDL to any third party, to protect India’s interest against any possible misuse.

• Since the grant of access in February 2009, the EPO has identified 36 patents making use of Indian TK. In some cases, the EPO set aside its intention to grant the patent, while in others applicants withdrew their application and similar results are expected by the CSIR for the rest of theses cases. This could prevent engagement in legally complex and extremely expensive opposition processes, according to the CSIR.

TKDL-Livelihood of Large Population in World India Equipped to Protect More than Two lakh Formulations Under TKDL: Bansal

TKDL-Livelihood of Large Population in World 

India Equipped to Protect More than Two lakh Formulations Under TKDL: Bansal 

TKDL crossed many hurdles and impediments and have been successfully negotiated and benchmarks created and set in place. TKDL team with its organized and objective activity has brought TKDL to this stage of international acceptability. More than 150 experts in the area of traditional medicine, Information Technology, IPRs and Scientists spent almost ten years for this task.Speaking at the inaugural session of the International Conference on Utilization of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) as a model for the protection of Traditional Knowledge here today, Union Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Vice President, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, said, “Today, India is well equipped to protect 2lakh,26 thousand formulations within a time range of ‘days and weeks’ and without any cost, whereas in the cases of ‘Neem’ and ‘Turmeric’ the country had to incur huge cost and it took more than 10 years to get the ‘Neem’ patent revoked at EPO. TKDL has been embraced by the World Intellectual Property Organization and by the EPO and US-PTO as well as other patent offices worldwide who have found in it a powerful weapon to fight biopiracy.”

The Minister explained that Traditional Knowledge is also the basis of the livelihood of a very large population in the world, in particular, in developing countries. He added, “ The issue of Traditional knowledge protection is quite a sensitive one, since traditional knowledge is the information that people in a given community, have developed over generations, on the basis of their experience and which is adapted to local culture and environment. Many countries are struggling to protect their traditional knowledge, against wrongful exploitation, primarily in the pharmaceutical sector. This knowledge is used to sustain the community and its culture, as well as biological resources necessary for the continued survival of the community. As per World Health Organization reports, it is estimated that more than 70% of the population is dependent on traditional medicines for their primary health care needs.”

For the last several years efforts are being made by different International organizations like World Trade Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization and Convention on Biological Diversity, to evolve an implementable solution for protection of Traditional Knowledge, though it is very difficult to bring about a consensus due to diversity of interests at multilateral fora.

Shri Bansal informed, “To ensure that that no wrong patent is granted on India’s traditional knowledge, the access of TKDL database – which breaks the language barriers and converts India’s traditional knowledge of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha & Yoga, originally written in Sanskrit, Arebic, Persian and Tamil, into five international languages makes information understandable to the International Patent Examiners. Access to TKDL has been given to several international Patent Offices under a non-disclosure agreement.” Expressing deep concern about earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 12.3.2011, Shri Bansal said, “We were to sign the TKDL Access Agreement with Japan Patent Office on March 25, 2011, in New Delhi. People of Japan are passing through a difficult and trying times. We express solidarity with the brave and resilient people of Japan.”

TKDL has made waves around the world, particularly in traditional knowledge rich countries by demonstrating the advantages of proactive action and the power of strong deterrence. The idea is not to restrict the use of traditional knowledge, but to ensure that wrong patents are not granted due to lack of access to the prior art for Patent examiners. India developed this much needed tool for protection of Traditional Knowledge. This process began in the year 2000, when wrong patents granted on the wound healing properties of turmeric by US Patent Office and another on the antifungal property of Neem by the European Patent Office, came to notice and were later fought and got revoked.

KP
(Release ID :71181)
courtesty: Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Science & Technology
22-March-2011 12:51 IST

ADMA seeks exemption from 1 per cent excise duty on ayurvedic classical products

ADMA seeks exemption from 1 per cent excise duty on ayurvedic classical products
Suja Nair Shirodkar, Mumbai
Monday, March 21, 2011, 08:00 Hrs [IST]


The Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturers' Association (ADMA) has urged the union government to revoke the implementation of one per cent excise duty on ayurvedic classical products that was proposed in the union budget for the year 2011-12, which was recently presented by union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

ADMA has already sent a letter in this regard to the union finance minster and the health minister early this month expressing their concern on the impact of this proposal on the fledgling Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU) industry in the country.

“We along with the other associations across the country have sent our representation to the government stating our views on this issues. The government must understand that levying tax from such a small industry will only destroy the industry. Our industry is already very small with almost 90 per cent of it being small and micro level units. If the government will impose one per cent tax from these manufacturers it will kill the traditional system of medicine,” said Chandrakanth Bhanushali, general secretary, ADMA.

He pointed out that currently only the classical products of ASU drugs have no or zero excise duty, whereas the manufacturers of proprietary ayurvedic medicines are paying 4 per cent excise duty.

“It will be an additional burden for the ASU industry since it has very less turnover. The government is certainly not going to get much profit from imposing excise duty on ayurvedic classical products, then why do they need to take such a step that will cripple the industry on the other hand,” he questions.

He further added that rather than taking such steps that are anti- industry, the government should look into measures that will ensure growth and development of the many small scale and micro level units in India which need government support to grow.

Not so scientific: BT brinjal report full of errors

Not so scientific: BT brinjal report full of errors

New Delhi: After global warming BT brinjal may also turn out to be a scientific fraud.

CNN-IBN has evidence to show that the much-hyped genetically modified version of the brinjal has the same protein content as the regular version.

CNN-IBN accessed the bio-safety data submitted by Mahyco to GEAC and in one of the crucial texts based on which the expert committee gave the go ahead to BT brinjal.

The section on protein estimation in cooked brinjal says that uncooked non BT brinjal also tested positive for BT protein.

The question is how can a non BT brinjal have BT protein?

"Non BT brinjal uncooked is positive for toxins. Does it make sense? Something like this happens when you actually manipulate it. So when you manipulate data then you are making changes and you forget to make some change somewhere," said SC's independent nominee to the GEAC Dr Pushpa Bhargava.

When the claim was pointed out to the GEAC, it said that this was a typographical error.

But critics say, it just exposes the cut-and-paste manner of very crucial research.

Controversy also surrounds the toxicity of the CRY 1 AC protein present in raw BT brinjal but the expert committee says when brinjal is cooked the protein disappears.

But what about raw BT brinjal?

"Raw brinjal is used in Siddha and Ayurvedic system of medicine. Very small part even one in a billion if it is accumulated in the body for a long time, it may produce other auto immune disorders," claimed siddha physician Dr G Sivaraman.

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar says that the view of the expert committee should be final.

"If after all precautions they have come to the conclusion that this is beneficiary, we should not oppose it," Pawar said.

But even the chairperson of the expert committee conceded that more tests could have been done. 

"If more tests were done and if there was a subtle or harmful effect it would have come out. However, regulatory authorities have not prescribed them for a long time," said chairperson of the expert committee, Dr Arjula Reddy.

The scientific evidence supporting the claim that BT brinjal is safe for human consumption is not conclusive and unambiguous which is why, even as Jairam Ramesh holds public consultations, 10 states have already said no to BT brinjal for now.

The question on everyone's mind is what is the need for BT brinjal?

Welfare board to be set up

Welfare board to be set up

The Tamil Nadu Government on Saturday issued orders for setting up a welfare board for traditional Siddha, Unani, Ayurveda and Homoeopathy doctors.

The government would incur an expenditure of about Rs.5 crore annually towards financial assistance to those who registered themselves and administration, according to a release.

Union Budget 2011: Hits & misses for pharmaceuticals industry, says Rahul Patni, Senior tax professional, Ernst & Young

The Indian health sciences industry has witnessed a budget without much mention. Whilst there were few positives for this industry, the industry wish list largely remained unaddressed.         

          On policy front, the government has increased allocations for healthcare by 20% to Rs 26,760 Crores. Also, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana has been extended to cover unorganized sector workers in hazardous mining and associated industries         

          On direct tax front, the effective corporate tax rate has been reduced from 33.22% to 32.445%. However, the effect has been offset by increase in Minimum Alternate Tax ('MAT') levy from 18% to 18.5% with MAT being now also made applicable to units in SEZ.         

          Weighted deductions for payments inter-alia made to National Laboratory or a university or a specified person for the purpose of approved scientific research program increased from 175% to 200%         

          On the indirect tax side, diagnostic and testing services (other than in a government hospital) would be liable to service tax, with an effective rate of 5%. There are also some concessions for endovascular stents and some life savings drugs on the customs side and some reduction in excise duty rates of sanitary napkins and diapers.         

          Also there is a levy of 1% excise duty on vaccines, intravenous fluids and Medicaments (including those used in Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathic or Bio-chemic systems), where there is no cenvat credit being availed.         
          All in all, in the wake of transitioning to new Direct Tax Code and Goods and Service Tax, the Government has not attended to the prescription for growth for the          health science industry          .       

Budget 2011: Most drug prices likely to go up

MUMBAI: You will have to pay more for that flu shot, or to ease pain during surgery. Prices of vaccines, anaesthetics and intravenous fluids (IV fluids) are expected to rise with the imposition of an excise levy.         

          Not just that. Ayurvedic, unani, siddha and homeopathic drugs will also cost more with them being brought under the excise net for the first time, with a 1% levy.         

          The Budget has hiked the excise levy on medicines by 1% from the existing 4%, making all medicines (allopathic) dearer. On vaccines, a 5% excise duty is being levied, with a concessional duty of 1% without Cenvat credit facility. A top official of major vaccine manufacturer          Serum India          told TOI: "We will pass on the excise burden to consumers, and accordingly, there will be around 1% increase in prices of vaccines."         

          Others like Sanofi and Panacea Biotech are also planning to increase prices. Prices may go up in the range of 1-1 .5% for most vaccines, excluding those under the          National Immunization Programme          .         

          Also, prices of most homeopathic, unani, siddha and ayurvedic concoctions and pills are expected to go up with the 1% excise levy. So, companies like          Dabur          , Baidyanath,          Himalaya Drug Company          , Dr Batra's and Baksons Homeopathy will be impacted.         

          The domestic pharma industry will be adversely impacted because of the imposition of minimum alternate tax of 18.5% on special economic zones. Cipla director S Radhakrishnan said: "The removal of tax benefit on SEZs is not good news. We have made a huge investment of over Rs 700 crore at Indore SEZ".       

Focus on AYUSH: MCD plans separate directorate

New Delhi, Mar 3 (PTI) 


                           Aiming at streamlining treatment facilities provided by it under Indian systems of medicine, the MCD is planning to create a separate directorate for ayurveda, unani, siddha and homeopathy (AYUSH).


                          At present, AYUSH is under the supervision of Director, Hospital Administration, MCD.


                         "The three deputy directors in charge of AYUSH report to additional director (medical), who is a specialist in allopathic medicine," MCD Public Health Committee Chairman V K Monga said.

TN Ayush Cluster to be operational from next year, 60% work completed

Peethambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai Wednesday, March 02, 2011, 08:00 Hrs  [IST]

The Traditional Ayush Cluster of Tamil Nadu Pvt Ltd (TACT CLUSTER), which has been in the pipeline for the last two years, will be operational in early next year. With the commencement of operation of the cluster, the manufacturers of traditional medicines in Tamil Nadu will be able to compete in the international market and exports of ‘ayushceuticals and neutraceuticals’ will go up, it is hoped. Dr V Dharmalingam, chairman of the Tact Cluster, a separate entity formed by the Tamil Nadu Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani manufacturers in the form of a Special Purpose Vehicle, said nearly 60 per cent of the work including construction of building has been completed and order for most modern equipment has been given as per the expectation of Ayush department. The office-bearers of the cluster have assured the department of Ayush that the cluster would be ready for operation before October 2011, he told Pharmabiz. For the project, the Union government has allotted Rs.10 crore and out of it Rs.two crore was already released to the company. With the erection of equipment, government will release another Rs.6 crore. The remaining two crores will be given for the finishing work soon after it is over. The project cost of the cluster is Rs.16.5 crore and the company will mobilize an amount of Rs.6 crore from its members. Dharmalingam said he is now on tour to all the districts of the state to collect the money, more amount is expected from Madurai and Thirunelveli. Special meetings are being arranged for the mobilization and the members will be briefed about how to make use of the cluster and the new guidelines issued by the union government in respect of export of medicines. While speaking to Pharmabiz, Dr Dharmalingam and his team expressed the hope that the cluster unit would help grow the micro, medium and small scale industries of Tamil Nadu into greater heights. It will enhance the capacity, reduce overheads, improve quality of products and packaging, thereby each small scale unit will be able to enter into export business. The cluster will have all the state-of the-art facilities for testing and analysis, product validation, safety study and manufacture. “Apart from upgrading the manufacturing technology of ayurvedic drugs, we are developing a facility for the entrepreneurs to compete in the international market, and to develop a research & development centre in the field of ISM products, especially to promote siddha and ayurveda products. Tamil Nadu is the hub of siddha medicine and its production process will get documented through the establishment of this cluster”, the chairman of the cluster said during the interaction. The Common Facilities for the TACT is developed at Sriperumpudur, the industrial corridor on the Chennai-Bangalore national high way, but it has an administrative office in Anna Nagar in Chennai city. The site at Sriperumpudur was bought for the purpose by TASUDMA (TN Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani Drug Manufacturers Association) for Rs.2 crore two years ago. The cluster at the two acre site will include facilities like laboratories for analytical, pharmacological, toxicological processes, raw-material bank & warehouse, common processing facility, packaging centre, display centre and common training and conference facility. When Vijay A Mehtha, the president of TASUDMA took the preliminary steps to start the cluster two years ago, he enrolled about 20 ISM companies with GMP facilities as the founder shareholders of the Cluster to comply with the rigid norms of Ayush department. He also sought the services of various experts including Dr N Thirunarayanan, secretary of Centre of Traditional Medicines and Research for technical and other inputs. Vijay Mehta and Dr Thirunarayanan had jointly conducted several meetings of ISM manufacturers to establish the scheme. But now, the president of TASUDMA and other technical persons including CTMR Secretary are being put outside the purview of the company, they complained.

courtesy:Pharmabiz