Considering the stupendous growth of pharmaceutical industry in Gujarat, a state-of-the-art campus of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Education Research (NIPER) will be constructed on the outskirts of the State Capital, Gandhinagar, at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore.
“The Gujarat Government has allocated 80 acres of land for Niper campus just opposite to the Air Force Station near Chiloda village. The construction work for the campus will be completed by the year 2017,” said Kiran Kalia, Director of Niper Gujarat.
Currently, the Niper is conducting seven courses in a rented premise at BV Patel Pharmaceutical Education and Research (PERD) Centre at Thaltej in Ahmedabad, said Kalia, adding that the institute was established in 2007 with three specialised courses in biotechnology, natural products and pharmaceutics. later on, four more courses — pharmaceutical analysis, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology & toxicology and medical devices were included, she added.
According to her, Niper Gujarat would increase number of students from the current 70 to as high as 550 once the institution would be shifted to its new campus. There are plan to increase new courses up to PhD level at the new campus in Gandhinagar. “We are working on to kick-start National Centre for Medical Devices at Niper Gujarat. It would be one-of-its-kind in the country,” she said.
Niper Gujarat is hosting its third convocation on Monday in which Director General of Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Soumya Swaminathan will be the chief guest. Apart from class rooms equipped with audio-visual facilities and laboratories for different course a central testing laboratory and animal house have been envisaged for the research activities at the upcoming campus.
The sprawling campus will have sports complex and landscaping garden. Hostel facilities for boys and girls coupled with staff quarters would also come up.
In order to cater ever growing demand of skilled manpower in pharmaceutical and allied industry, the Government of India had sanctioned six Niper campuses in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Gujarat.
Due to globalisation India has been seeing spectacular growth in pharmaceutical sector and projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 20 per cent. India is considered as top five pharmaceutical markets in the world. As far as Gujarat is concerned, the State is forefront in the pharmaceutical growth and accounts for 42 per cent of the total pharmaceutical turnover of the country.
The State is also having lion's share of over 45 per cent in the exports of pharmaceutical products. As a result of all these reasons there has been tremendous requirement of skilled manpower in pharmaceutical sector not only in Gujarat but across the country.