00:08There is a clear recognition of the fact that various global supply chains of pharma inputs
00:16have disrupted on account of West Asia crisis. There is an issue related to supply of solvents
00:26and active pharmaceutical ingredients. However, there is no major increase in sales prices
00:33of drugs and pharmaceuticals. In order to support pharma industry and to maintain the availability
00:41of inputs, feedstocks and also APIs, Department of Revenue through Notification dated 1 April
00:492026, has slashed custom duties of 40 various petrochemical products to zero. It should
00:59be recognized that the pharmaceutical sector has a very strong value chain linkage with
01:07the petroleum and petrochemical sector, particularly in the supply of critical feedstocks and solvents,
01:14which are used for manufacturing of drugs and syrups. In view of this interdependence,
01:21the government is working in close coordination with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
01:27and the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, so that uninterrupted supply of essential pharma
01:33inputs is ensured. Accordingly, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has made allocation
01:41pro rata as per the availability of feedstocks, particularly propylene. And there are other two solvents,
01:49ammonia and methanol, as with the help of Department of Fertilizer. Fertilizer manufacturing units
02:00are continuously providing the necessary input of ammonia to solvent manufacturers so that further downstream
02:10products are made available. And propylene remains the most critical input because it is used for
02:18production of isopropyl alcohol and isobutyl benzene, which are used for manufacturing of medicines like
02:25ibuprofen and other necessary drugs. A significant portion of these is being supplied by
02:33Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas through BPCL Kochi and Mumbai refineries.
02:41However, methanol supply has emerged as a major area of concern. In this regard, there has been discussions
02:49with Assam Petrochemicals and GNFC, which are ready to supply the necessary quantities of methanol.
02:58So, work is underway to establish the necessary logistics and supply chains. And supply, however,
03:07in a moderate way has already commenced. The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has also extended support
03:14by suspending the quality control order of Marfolin. And Marfolin is a very important building block used for
03:21manufacturing of various life-saving drugs. Aluminium supply required for pharmaceutical packaging had faced
03:27constraints. Restoration of supplies underway and the situation is expected to normalize within a week or so.
03:34Supplies of LPG and HSD oil is important, particularly for ampoule and vial ceilings and are under very close watch.
03:44And pharmaceutical units are currently not facing any constraint as of today. The government remains
03:51fully engaged with facilitating supplies on case-to-case basis. That means to say, if there are any concerns,
03:58we get information and request through concerned organizations and also through associations. And as and when
04:08we get requests from these associations, we facilitate the supply in our own limited manner. Thank you.
04:16Thank you. Now we take updates from the Petroleum Ministry. Over to you, Sojati.
04:27Thank you, Sojani Neville.
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