Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the permanent campus of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Ahmedabad, in Gujarat, today. Many dignitaries including Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel and Union Health Minister, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya were present on this occasion.

In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that as per the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, NIPERs are laying the foundation of making a self-reliant India in the pharmaceutical sector by becoming a bridge connecting knowledge, education, research and business. He said that NIPER, Gandhinagar spreading across 8 buildings on about 60 acres of land will make a huge contribution in making human life healthy and complete in the field of medicine not only in the country but all over the whole world. Shri Shah said that NIPER, Gandhinagar has been ranked among the top 10 pharmacy institutes of the country since the last 3 years and now with the construction of the new building no one can stop it from reaching the first position.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, said that Gandhinagar has good infrastructure and environment for education. There is Law University, National Forensic Science University, Raksha Shakti University, Deen Dayal Petroleum University, and today NIPER is also starting here which will infuse a new energy to all the educational institutions here. Shri Shah said that NIPER should aim to become the world's top institute not only in education but also in research in the field of medicine. He said that unless India achieves mastery in the field of research, we cannot dominate the field of drug manufacturing in the world. Shri Shah said that NIPER, Gandhinagar has established itself as a renowned Center of Excellence and will grow further in the coming days. NIPER has been conceived with the objective of creating a centre of education, research, quality and excellence to link it with production and public service. He said that pharmacy is a field in which education not only benefits the individual but also proves useful in making human life healthy and long. He said that the students studying here will not only make their lives better but will also become the reason for the healthy life of crores of people.

Shri Amit Shah said that currently there are 7 NIPERs in India, out of which Mohali and Guwahati were fully functional and today, NIPER, Gandhinagar is also going to be fully functional. He said that the construction work of NIPER is in progress in Hajipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Rae Bareli. He said that NIPER has become a big name in the field of technical and higher education across the country today. Shri Shah said that about 8,000 students have graduated from here and become successful in the professional field. NIPER students have more than 380 patents registered in their name and more than 7,000 research papers have been published. He said that the Modi government has released Rs. 2,200 crore for the construction of a state of the art laboratory here which will help the students to move ahead in the field of research in the coming days. Shri Shah said that NIPER has also made a good place for itself among the pharmaceutical industries and more than 270 MoUs have been signed between the industries and NIPER, which shows that NIPER has the skill to link knowledge with business.

Union Home Minister said that through NIPER, about 16 specializations are offered in various course streams in the pharmaceutical and medical fields. He said that the Modi government has adopted a holistic approach to boost the production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and Key Starting Materials (KSMs) for medicines in the country, and in the coming 10 years, India will become self-reliant in these and start their export. He said that efforts have been initiated to develop a cost-effective, sustainable, and affordable process for 16 APIs and 2 KSMs. Shri Shah said that under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, India will not only become self-reliant in the API and KSM sectors but will also be in the position to export APIs and KSMs, in the next 10 years. He added that a research portal has been started in NIPER, providing numerous benefits to research professionals.

Shri Amit Shah said that the Pradhanmantri Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi Yojana, started by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has become a blessing for crores of poor people in the country. He said that 1,800 medicines and 285 surgical instruments have been made available to the poor at 50% to 90% lower prices at 10,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country. Today, the Pradhanmantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras have become blessing centers for the poor. He added that industries are also supporting this scheme and have played a pivotal role in making the lives of the country's poor citizens easier and more accessible. Shri Shah said that due to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision, in the last 9 years nearly Rs. 30,000 crore have been saved in the purchase of medicines by the poor. He added that in the year 2022-23 alone, the saving amounts to Rs. 7,500 crore.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Central Government has approved an investment of Rs. 4,000 crore for 48 small and large industries in the pharmaceutical production sector under the PLI scheme, and a significant portion of this investment has already been made. Under the PLI scheme, domestic production of medical devices is also being promoted, and Modi government has given approval to 26 investors for investment of about Rs. 2000 crore. To promote bulk drug pharma parks, Modi government has also done the work of building 3 bulk drug pharma parks with a total cost outlay of Rs. 3000 crore. He said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has also brought National Medical Device Policy 2023 to make India self-reliant in the field of medical devices manufacturing with a holistic approach. Shri Shah added that the first expo in the field of medical device manufacturing, which attracted nearly 250 types of devices, 70 startups, over 4,000 buyers and sellers, more than 10,000 visitors, and saw participation from 47 countries, was organized in Gandhinagar in 2023.

Shri Amit Shah said that be it the Ayushman Bharat scheme, strengthening PHCs, CHCs, or wellness centers, creating awareness about health through yoga, or increasing medical seats by two and half times, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has worked towards strengthening the healthcare sector in the past 9 years. He said that along with all this, 7 NIPERs have also been established in the country. He said that the Modi government has worked with a holistic approach in the field of health in the country in the last 9 years and has also taken care of the health of the people of the country.

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