Ananth Kumar: Will make North-east pharma hub; Centre to set up generic medicine centres in Assam

GUWAHATI: The centre is planning to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Assam government to set up generic centres at about 100 hospitals in the state to provide generic medicines at very low cost to poor patients, Union Minister Ananth Kumar said today.

"We want to sign a MoU under my ministry's Janaushadhi scheme and provide more than 500 generic medicines by setting up generic centres at about 100 hospitals in district and subdivisional headquarters", Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar said after laying the foundation stone of National Institute of Pharmaceuticals Education and Research (NIPER) campus here.

The Centre would set up the generic centres at the cost of Rs 2.5 lakh each in the state and the cost of 100 hospitals would be Rs 100 crore, he said.

The setting up of the NIPER campus in Assam would also go a long way in making Assam and North East region a pharmaceutical hub with entrepreneurs encouraged to set up units here, the minister said.

"NIPER's Guwahati campus will be the second largest in the country after Mohali and it will be promoted and established as a lighthouse of educational, knowledge and research hub", Kumar added.

The Centre's focus would be to promote pharmaceutical research with an integrated approach towards holistic health care so as to take care of lifestyle diseases.

The minister further said that Assam would be projected as a 'cradle of Ayurveda' after Kerala and this will go a long way in promoting holistic health care in the region.

Meanwhile, he thanked the Assam government for granting 89 acres of land in 2009 to set up the NIPER campus and though "there has been delay, I have instructed officials to ensure completion of first phase of construction within an year".

The Centre has sanctioned Rs 166 crore during the first phase while the total cost was estimated to be Rs 550 crore, he added.