Pharmacy academic community in Chhattisgarh has stated that although their state has a wealth of brilliant pharmacy teachers and bright students across numerous institutions, the pharmacy education sector faces a significant hurdle, lack of pharmaceutical industries for providing industrial training to their students.

Further, this absence directly impacts both the students’ and teachers’ abilities to contribute for manufacturing sector, according to Prof. Shekhar Varma, former registrar of Chhattisgarh State Pharmacy Council and professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the Central University in Bilaspur.

The major drawback of the pharma sector in Chhattisgarh is the lack of pharma industries, but there are a lot of labelling and packaging industries, to which the students after their graduate course are turning into. Actually, the state has adequate water supply and more than sufficient amount of electricity which is supplied to all the states in India. The state is now fit for a pharma industry revolution, but the government is not taking speedy steps to create the foundation for establishing pharma industries in Chhattisgarh, Dr. Sharma told Pharmabiz.  

“Chhattisgarh is ripe for becoming a pharmaceutical industry hub in central India. Though the initial progress from the government side was not as swift as desired in creating a foundational support for pharma industries, the teachers’ association has actively engaged with the government, advocating for the urgent need for local pharmaceutical manufacturing industries. Because of these persistent pressures, the government has now begun taking concrete steps, including initiatives to establish a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) specifically for pharma industries. Accordingly, some announcements have now come from the government, following it, two industrial units have already been established in the private sector. More units are anticipated in the near future”, said Prof. Sharma who is preparing to meet the industry and health ministers next week.

While interacting with Pharmabiz, Dr. Sharma highlighted a significant consequence of this industrial void. He said since the state lacks local manufacturing units, the pharmacy graduates are increasingly pushed into marketing roles. According to him, the state has become a hub for marketing, labelling, and packaging companies, effectively transforming Chhattisgarh into a ‘consumer state’ for pharmaceuticals. Medicines flow in from nearly every other state in India, underscoring the lack of internal production.

He said the government Polytechnic in Raipur is conducting the D Pharm course and the Bilaspur Central University is running B Pharm, M Pharm and Ph D courses under the government sector. There are 85 pharmacy institutions operating under the private sector, the number is increasing every year.

When asked about the prevalence of counterfeit or spurious drugs entering the market, Dr. Sharma said it is a crucial problem in Chhattisgarh, and acknowledged a lot of newspaper reports concerning such versions. However, he said the regulatory bodies are conducting thorough checks to combat this issue.

Stating that Chhattisgarh has a unique advantage in mineral wealth and tribal culture, he also highlighted its significance in herbal medicines. The potential of herbal medicines lies in the abundance of medicinal plants, furthermore, large quantities of herbal extracts are exported to other countries. But this area of herbal medicines is not properly utilized.