Goa accounts for 12% of drug manufacturing in India: CM

Panaji, Sep 21 (IANS) The pharmaceutical industry in Goa accounts for 12 per cent of all medicines manufactured in the country, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday, while also rooting for development of Goa as a model hub for export in the country.

"Pharmaceutical industry in Goa produces 12 per cent of the total medicine manufactured in India. Around 70 per cent of the product is exported to the most developed countries in the world," Sawant told a government function in Panaji organised to promote industrial trade in the state.

"We all share a goal. The goal is to enhance Goa's export potential by finding new opportunities and entering the new markets. As we are the smallest state in India, we are facing unique developmental challenges due to our small population and limited natural resources, like availability of land. Therefore we all must work shoulder to shoulder to make Goa as an export hub, a model export state for the rest of the country," the Chief Minister also said.

Sawant said that obtaining Geographical Index (GI) tagging for indigenous products would also help increase the synergy between local entrepreneurs and those involved in traditional occupations.

"Our government is working to get geo-tagging for more Goan products. The GI tagging will help Goan entrepreneurs to involve traditional businesses, such as manufacturing of feni, khaje (traditional jaggery coated snacks) as well as farmers producing the kola chilli (and provide intellectual property rights for the products)," the Chief Minister said.

"We have moved from the 7th position in the SDG (countrywide ranking) to the fourth position in 2020. The state is coming up with common processing clusters for paddy, vegetable, food processing, fruit, coir, chilli and jaggery," Sawant also said.