Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday unveiled the Gujarat Biotechnology Policy 2022-27 with an expected capital investment of “over Rs 20,000 crore”, providing assistance to “more than 500 industries in the state” and creating “over 1.20 lakh new employment opportunities”, according to a press release from the state government.
The policy aims at providing capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operation expenses (OPEX) assistance to special projects, with upto 25 per cent of the total capital expenditure up to a maximum of Rs 200 crore and up to 15 per cent of the total operating cost up to a maximum of Rs 25 crore per annum.
Assistance will also be provided on term-loans of upto Rs 100 crore at an interest rate of seven per cent, with an annual ceiling of Rs 7 crore, and an interest of three per cent paid on- term loans of above Rs 100 crore, with an annual ceiling of Rs 20 crore.
MSMEs with a capital investment of less than Rs 200 crore will be given a maximum assistance of Rs 40 crore with a maximum of Rs 5 crore assistance per annum. Mega or large projects with a capital investment of more than Rs 200 crore as well as special projects like “ecosystem empowerment, emerging technologies in challenging areas and of strategic importance” will be given up to 25 per cent of the total capital expenditure up to a maximum of Rs 200 crore, provided in the form of 20 quarterly instalments over five years.
For large, mega and special projects with capital investment of more than Rs 200 crore, OPEX assistance of up to 15 per cent of the total operating cost up to a maximum of Rs 25 crore per annum will be provided, which includes expenses for power tariff, patent assistance, marketing development assistance, lease rental subsidy, bandwidth leasing, and quality certification.
According to the state government, it will also provide support to special projects such as preclinical testing, genome sequencing in the private sector, private sector BSL-3 lab-vaccine development and manufacturing and testing and certification laboratories.
To incentivise industries, the policy will provide 100 per cent reimbursement on electricity duty and 100 per cent EPF assistance to female employees and 75 per cent reimbursement for male employees. To incentivise local hiring, the policy plans to provide assistance to the said employee who has been associated with the applicant company for more than one year of Rs 50,000 (to men) and Rs 60,000 (to women).
According to a press release from the government, CM Patel stated the objective of the new policy is “to make Gujarat competitive in the biotechnology market… and maximise the benefits”, while adding that “various stakeholders such as educational institutes, research institutes, start-ups and entrepreneurs were consulted to frame the five-year policy plan.
According to the release, the new policy “will promote partnerships between various stakeholders such as NGOs, scientific establishments and industries” and also includes “various financial assistance for technology acquisition, skill development, alternative energy production, quality certification, and bandwidth leasing,” with such provision of assistance not being part of the previous policy.