Concerns for Sikkim to be Pharma destination

North-East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007 and a 10 year tax exemption does the trick for pharma companies to relocate to Sikkim. Should Sikkim be concerned about its natural identity?

In early 2009 Mumbai-based pharma major Unichem Laboratories was in a fix over its expansion plans. The company’s existing plants at Goa, Ghaziabad and Baddi were already running at full capacity. Acquiring additional land in these places would have meant a pretty high investment. Sikkim was the potential destination, the company began to evaluate. In 2010, in little more than a year, an ultra-modern formulation plant of Unichem Laboratories became operational at a minimal investment of Rs 30 crore.

Opportunity for pharma majors

Indian pharma companies are now using the concept of multi-locational facilities to get Return On Investment (ROI) in the shortest possible time. Unichem is not alone now. More than a dozen pharma companies like Cipla, Sun Pharma, Zydus Cadila, Alembic, IPCA, Alkem Lab, Intas Pharma, Torrent Pharma and of course, Unichem have set up base at Sikkim to maximize the benefits of the new North-East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007 which come with a 10 year tax exemption from the date of commencement of commercial production. In case of Sikkim, there’s 100% excise duty exemption on finished products manufactured there, 100% exemption on income tax, capital investment subsidy of 30% on the investment in plant and machinery, interest subsidy at 3% on working capital loan and even reimbursement of 100% insurance premium. Labour, power and overall cost of manufacturing in Sikkim is already lower when compared to states like Gujarat and Maharashtra. And to top it all, Sikkim also offers attractive freight subsidy. These are the reasons, why of late, pharma giant Lupin is also evaluating the state.

Today, Sikkim is home to 14 major pharma companies with significant investments in the state. By early 2010, Sikkim had already attracted pharma investment upwards of Rs 2,500 crore. After Gujarat, Goa and Baddi, Sikkim is the next hotspot for pharma majors. This could have big implications given the fact that India is world’s fourth largest producer of pharmaceuticals by volume. On the part of pharma companies, having multi location plants prevents over dependence on one site.

Ramesh Kumar, who heads the Cipla plant at Sikkim said to a newspaper in 2009, “Sikkim is a peaceful state and has huge potential for the manufacturing sector. There is minimal interference by the state government. It’s true the state took some time to develop and attract the pharma companies. But now it is surely at a tipping point,”. Cipla has gone on stream in Sikkim since April 2008.

“The new North-East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy, 2007 is highly beneficial for pharma Investments in Sikkim. The State is not known for issues like labour unrest. The pollution free atmosphere is absolutely conducive to pharma investment. There could not have been a better situation,” said Prof. Prakash V Mallya, director, Centre for Pharmaceutical Professional Advancement, Krupanidhi Institutions, Bangalore.

The big advantage that companies are viewing in Sikkim is the ability to be able to invest in a Greenfield project complying to Good Manufacturing Practice(GMP). The design concepts for GMP can be incorporated the latest technology and equipment in the beginning itself, thus avoiding the problem of trying to change the traditional plant design.

Opportunity for Sikkim

In case of Baddi in Himachal, the pharma sector made a beeline around 2004-05 to cash in on the tax incentives. Within years, as many as 180 pharma units set up base in Baddi. Right now, tourism industry is the key revenue generator for the Sikkim exchequer. If Sikkim can redo a Baddi, the state will be sitting on a pile of cash. Sikkim is offering huge benefits. But despite attractive benefits, poor marketing is a handicap which Sikkim has been suffering from. And it is here that Baddi had scored trumps.

Hiccups

There remain a few hiccups though, especially trained manpower. There is only one pharmacy college which companies will need to approach for candidates and invest in training. Pharma manufacture also need the support of ancillary units like packaging, access to raw materials, components, machinery etc.

According Kaushik Desai, chairman, Industrial Pharmacy Division, Indian Pharmaceutical Association, although the logistics and access to trained manpower are an issue, pharma majors have opted to invest in Sikkim. This is because of financial gains, they can garner from these investments at a faster pace from tax savings.

Concerns

In the Himalayan state of Sikkim, environment is a big concern. And rightly so when the drug majors pay scant regards in exploiting natural resources and run away at the first opportunity of a tax haven. Gujarat, till just a few years ago, manufactured almost 42% of country's drugs. With Baddi coming up, Gujarat's share dropped down to 20%. Now, with Sikkim giving tax breaks, the companies are rushing here.

They will pollute the water, the air and the greenery, enjoy tax benefits and when another tax haven comes, will relocate there. Sikkim can ill afford to have such generous policies to the detriment of its natural identity. Companies are welcome to Sikkim but we can't let Sikkim and its rivers be a dumping ground for these pharma majors. The government of Sikkim needs to put strict regulations to not let Sikkim's natural beauty, cleanliness and purity dilute for short term profit.

The article has been published on iSikkim.com

The Ambassador of Hope

He was born in the USA. He had no plans for his life till he was 16. And then the Divine intervened which completely transformed his life. At 19, he was in Kolkata, working with street children and imparting lessons of humanity to budding pastors in a bible school. Today, he is 29, based in Gangtok (Sikkim) and married to a Sikkimese woman.

Meet, Mike Van Buskirk. Mike has been working in India for the hopeless and the helpless from all faith since 2000. For the past six years, he has been in Sikkim, giving hope to dozens of people with the help of a church based NGO, Embassy of Hope and Soul Purpose Ministry, a US based NGO. Tilak Jha spoke to Mike Van Buskirk (Excerpts):

How come a person from the Pacific North West of the USA landed in Sikkim?

I came to Kolkata in the year 2000. There we used to teach pastors and similar folks in a bible school. I taught one of the students from Sikkim who invited me to visit the state. I came here in December 2000 for the first time. On my first trip I met the young Sikkemese lady, Jyoti, who also became my wife. We worked together on that trip and then the following trips. Thereafter, I went back to the USA for almost eight months. Once I came back, we decided to marry. We worked together for some time in Bangalore, Kolkata and Sikkim as well. Finally we decided to settle in Sikkim.

What is your family background? Tell a bit about your other family members.

I have two brothers and one sister, all younger than I. Dad left when I was very little; we have a distant relationship as he’s been in prison since I was 12 years old. Growing up was very difficult for all of us kids; our family was broken…but Jesus knows how to put things back together!

How did you get into social work at such a tender age?

When I was 15-16 years old, I was very rebellious like any other youth elsewhere; experimenting with drugs, alcohol. I quit going to school and was giving a lot of trouble to myself. There was no clear purpose for my life and I was depressed and angry. I didn’t grow in a religious family and we didn’t go to church.

During that very time, I got introduced to Jesus by someone. It was a spiritual experience. I was said that not everyone gets this chance. I felt that though I didn’t understand myself fully, I would be a fool not to try.

My life, thereafter, was completely transformed. I had a very powerful experience that set me in motion.

Why did you choose India and then Sikkim?

After my spiritual experience, I knew, I had to work in India. The way I describe, people may not be able to relate. But I know, it was God who put that desire in me to come to India. I knew nothing of India and had never heard of Sikkim before in my life.

Once I came to Kolkata and then to Sikkim, I liked the place. It is a little less crowded, a little less polluted and a peaceful place. If you want to choose a place to live in India, it is one of the most pleasant places to live. I had no plans to live here though. That came a few years later after my marriage.

Now we have a children’s home here in Sikkim where we take care of orphans. Right now we have eleven children, six boys and five girls. We work with the local church here. My father-in-law is the pastor of that church along with my mother-in-law who is also very active. So we have our family members working together.

Now that you are married to an Indian and stay here for most of the time, you are very much an Indian.

Yeah, I think so. But there are some legal complications. India doesn’t allow dual citizenship that easily. But I think I am very close.

Six years is quite a significant time. How has your work changed the lives of people you have worked for?

We tried to help families more than individuals. We believe that in place of individual if you help the entire family, you can bring change to the entire community. But there are specific cases where we had to involve ourselves.

In West Bengal, there was a group of boys who were already in an orphanage. And some of them were there since their infancy. The orphanage later abandoned them since the man behind the orphanage died and the others were more interested in capturing land and other resources. The eldest child was 11 years old and the youngest was just 5. We brought 5 of them to Sikkim. About three years later, they topped in their class.

Your hobbies include winning souls and making disciples. How do you do this?

We do this with the help of Jesus. We follow his examples. The heart of a person longs for love and acceptance. In the heart of every man there is a passionate desire to be accepted by that entity. We show them the love of God. When they feel like they do become disciples of Jesus.

What is your take on the recent cases of child abuse by priests?

Priest or pedophile? Sinner or saint?
If you remove Christ from the church you are left with a form completely void of power. Any church, including the Roman Catholic, can easily fall prey to becoming nothing more than a religious institution, and any religion offers no answer to mankind’s bend toward evil. It’s this form without power that can turn a priest into a pedophile.

Until man is righteous and knows it, Satan reigns over him, sin and disease are his masters, and he is completely powerless against the passions of his flesh. Religion can’t change it. You can’t educate it or reform it. Medicating the body or philosophizing the mind won’t cure it. The only hope is found in what Jesus called being “born again” (John 3:3), and the lifelong “training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16), described in the Bible. This alone can turn a sinner into a saint, and keep a priest from becoming a pedophile.

Over the last couple of years there have been many cases of Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other fundamentalist forces creating trouble in Orissa and other parts of the country. Did you face any sort of threat from them?

I am lucky that way. I have never faced any threat. Certain parts of India are little more dangerous but in Sikkim there is nothing like that. There are such groups in Sikkim. But in Sikkim there are so many Christians and there are lots of churches. So, they have to more or less accept and there is no violence here. There is nothing Christian specific as such about our work. We work for people of every religion from all parts of the country.

What are your future plans?

Our plan, right now, is to continue here in Sikkim. Staying faithful and continue to do what God has called us to do. We have to see how things progress. Right now, there is nothing in our heart beyond what we are doing.

Thank you so much Mike. We wish you all the best for your good work in India.

The article was published on iSikkim.com