Cadila to set up Rs. 45-cr facility in J&K

Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd will commission its manufacturing facility for formulations in Jammu and Kashmir, by December this year. The Rs 600 crore pharma company is investing Rs 45 crore in bringing up this new facility at Samba to take advantage of the excise and income tax benefits being doled out by the Centre to promote investments in Jammu and Kashmir.

‘This will not only help the company in fulfilling its corporate objective of making available quality medicines at affordable prices but also help in providing ample employment opportunities to the local population in Jammu,” said I.A.Modi, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

The unit will have a capacity to manufacture 1, 019.4 million tablets per annum, 1329 million tablets and capsule packing (strips and blisters), 150 million capsules, 1, 500kilo litre liquid formulations and 14.4 million bottles.

Several pharma companies from Gujarat have set up manufacturing facilities in tax-free zones such as Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and J&K. The facility will have a linear manufacturing structure with six manufacturing lines. Four lines will be for tablets, one for capsules manufacturing and sixth for liquid formulations.

A company spokesman said that the total value of production from this unit is likely to be close to Rs 350 crore per year. It would solely cater to the domestic market. “The Jammu unit will also help us boost exports from the present facility at Dholka, near Ahmedabad,” the spokesman said.

The centre has exempted the payment of excise duty on the goods produced in Jammu and Kashmir for 10 years. They have also provided for income tax exemption for 10 years from the year of commercial production, besides several other financial benefits. Samba is situated on the National highway and CPL's factory is only 1.5 km away from the national highway.

(The Economic Times, Ahmedabad)