IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said efforts were also underway to double the size of the life sciences sector in the State from the current $50 billion to $100 billion in size in five years.
Updated On – 03:27 PM, Tue – 21 February 23
Hyderabad: Hyderabad will soon turn into a pharma manufacturing hub of international importance with the Pharma City, the largest pharma manufacturing cluster, nearing completion.
IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said efforts were also underway to double the size of the life sciences sector in the State from the current $50 billion to $100 billion in size in five years. There were about four lakh people working in the life sciences and allied sectors and this would also double to 8,00,000 in the coming five years in Telangana, he said.
Among others, the Genome Valley would see an additional 20 lakh sqft real estate space getting added. Already, about 30 lakh sq ft was built and was being used. The medical devices cluster at Sultanpur had evoked good response and there was hardly any space vacant in the cluster, he said.
Speaking to the media as a curtain raiser to the 20th edition of industry event BioAsia, he said the State’s IT and health and life sciences sectors in the State had grown due to the presence of a nurturing ecosystem and a progressive government in Telangana.
Even though the Centre talked of cooperative federalism and Team India, the same was not reflected in its actions. An ITIR project given to the State was cancelled. If it were allowed, it would have helped Telangana with more opportunities in the IT sector.
The Centre also ignored the pleas of Telangana for a bulk drugs park, despite having a large supporting ecosystem present here. Telangana was home to 214 US FDA facilities, the largest in a single province. Next in line was New Jersey with 189 USFDA units. Despite having so many US regulator approved pharma units, the Centre did not give Telangana a bulk drugs manufacturing park, he said, highlighting the selective bias towards other States.
Another plea to set up a defence and aerospace cluster between Hyderabad and Bengaluru too was not allowed. A defence manufacturing corridor would have benefitted Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka if it were allowed by the Centre. Instead, it chose to announce this corridor in a place that does not have the manpower and other resources.
“Telangana has continued to grow and will continue to grow further. If the Centre also supported, the growth would happen a bit faster,” the Minister said.
On the Pharma City, Rama Rao said the State was awaiting orders from the court on certain matters. So far, no company has been allotted any land in the project, Rama Rao said.
“The State Government has plans to develop a skyway from JBS to Shamirpet. However, this is not allowed to happen as there is no inclination to part with some defence lands. About 100 acre is required for a road on the lines of PVNR Expressway on this stretch,” he said.
On the industry event, he said BioAsia was one of its kind events that was focused on a niche sector. In the past 19 editions, it hosted thought leaders from over 100 countries.
The event promotes Hyderabad, Telangana and India as the investment destination for the pharma, health and life sciences sectors. The event also reflects about the capabilities of Telangana. The event, which helped the State realise investments to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore in the past editions, will be held from February 24 to 26 in Hyderabad.
