Daily News - Monday, 10 March 2025

Over 100 MSME drug firms apply to upgrade manufacturing facilities (mint)

The Indian government has approved 103 applications for Central financial assistance under the revamped Pharmaceutical Technology Upgradation Assistance Scheme (RPTUAS), allocating ₹105 crore to help MSME drug firms upgrade to international standards, addressing a key barrier to pharma exports. Despite India having around 10,000 MSME drug manufacturers, only 2,000 currently hold WHO Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification, prompting the government to revise Schedule M of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act in 2023 and enhance financial incentives in September 2024—raising the maximum support from ₹1 crore to ₹2 crore, with reimbursement rates varying from 10% to 20% based on firm revenue. While two companies have completed the process, another 200 firms have registered interest, and key pharmaceutical hubs like Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, and Gujarat remain under the oversight of State and Central Drug Licensing Authorities, with MSMEs receiving a one-year extension to meet GMP compliance. 

States' capex likely declined 6% in April-January (Financial Express)

Despite the Centre’s efforts to accelerate capital expenditure (capex) through relaxed norms and frontloaded tax devolution, state governments’ capex fell by 6% year-over-year in April-January FY25 to ₹4.1 lakh crore from ₹4.4 lakh crore, indicating a slowdown in their own investments. The Centre released ₹1.15 lakh crore in interest-free capex loans and advanced three extra tax devolution installments worth ₹2.5 lakh crore, but factors like delayed project execution due to general elections and extended rains hindered spending, leading to a modest 6.5% rise in borrowings to ₹6.55 lakh crore compared to a sharp 38.2% increase last year. While the 18 major states reviewed saw a 15% rise in tax revenues to ₹24.6 lakh crore and a 12% increase in revenue expenditure, overall public capex-driven growth remained sluggish, with the Centre’s capex rising only 5% and CPSE investments, including railways and NHAI, growing 8% to ₹7.39 lakh crore in the first ten months of FY25.

Solar capacity addition of 90GW seen in 2 years (Financial Express)

India’s solar capacity addition is projected to reach 85-90 GW between FY26 and FY27, with FY25 alone expected to see a doubling of capacity addition to 30 GW, driven by residential rooftop solar and government schemes like PM-Suryaghar Muft Bijlee Yojana (PM-SGMBY). While domestic solar module manufacturing under the Approved List of Modules and Manufacturers (ALMM) is expected to meet 90 GW of demand by FY27, more than half of India’s solar cell requirements will still be met through imports, despite an improvement in the cell/module capacity ratio from 32% to 65%. To reduce reliance on imports, the government is introducing an ALMM list for solar cells from June 2026 and plans to invest $1 billion in wafer and ingot manufacturing incentives, but challenges such as land constraints, restrictive net metering policies, and regulatory stringency on Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) modules could impact growth. 

PepsiCo eyes to double revenues from India (Financial Chronicle)

⁠PepsiCo aims to double its revenue in India over the next five years, viewing the country as a key anchor market and a major driver of its global growth, with India ranking among its top three markets for food, snacks, and beverages while experiencing double-digit growth. The company has aggressively invested in greenfield plants in Uttar Pradesh and Assam, with plans to open two more facilities, including one in the southern region, as it seeks to stay ahead of demand and capitalize on India’s low per capita consumption in the beverage and food segments. Recognizing India as one of its 13-15 global anchor markets, PepsiCo has strategically divided the country into nine clusters based on taste preferences to maximize market penetration and long-term revenue expansion. 

⁠India-EU trade talks to aid pharma, IT, textiles (Financial Chronicle)

As India-EU trade talks begin, key sectors like technology, pharma, textiles, and services exports could benefit from a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), but major sticking points include agricultural tariffs, automobile duties, and regulatory barriers on labour-intensive goods, with India resisting cuts to auto import duties and EU demands on sustainability and labour standards. The EU seeks tariff elimination on over 95% of its exports, access to India’s government procurement market, and lower duties on wines (from 150% to 30-40%) and completely built-up (CBU) vehicles (from 100-125% to 10-20%), while India aims to secure better terms for remote service delivery and protect its GI registration process. Trade hurdles include the EU’s strict environmental regulations—such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and supply chain due diligence laws—which could raise costs for Indian exports, even as total India-EU trade surpassed $190 billion in FY24, with India exporting $76 billion in goods and $30 billion in services, while the EU exported $61.5 billion in goods and $23 billion in services.