Pricing freedom likely for IMPCL post-privatisation

Divestment

♦ IMPCL is Mini Ratna

♦ Uttarakhand govt-owned KMVNL will also sell remaining stake

♦ It makes 656 Ayurved and 332 Unani medicines

♦ So far, govt fixing price structure

♦ It had highest ever turnover of Rs260.84 cr in FY22

New Delhi: After privatization, Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd (IMPCL) is likely to enjoy considerable freedom to sell its drugs at the prices it deems fit. This prospect is expected to make the public-sector undertaking (PSU), for the sale of which bids have been invited, an attractive proposition in the eyes of interested bidders, official sources told Bizz Buzz. At present, the prices of IMPCL products are set by the government.

Bidders can file expressions of interest (EoI) by October 15 for the purchase of IMPCL, in which the central government holds 98.11 per cent stake and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd (KMVNL), an undertaking of the Government of Uttarakhand, the rest. The PSU is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Ayush.

The central government wants to offload its entire stake in IMPCL through strategic disinvestment along with the transfer of management control. The KMVNL will go along with the Centre and sell its stake too, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) said recently.

IMPCL has been a profit-making PSU since its inception. The profit before tax (PBT) of IMPCL was Rs42.77 lakh during 2019-20, which surged to Rs45.41 crore for 2021-22. It had the highest ever turnover of Rs260.84 crore in 2021-22.

IMPCL was conferred with WHO-GMP/CoPP certification for 18 Ayurvedic products in July 2021. It also has business diversification plans in the area of Ayurvedic veterinary medicines.

IMPCL was incorporated on July 12, 1978, with the prime objective to manufacture and supply genuine Ayurvedic and Unani medicines. It manufactures 656 classical Ayurvedic, 332 Unani, and 71 proprietary Ayurvedic medicines for a varied spectrum of diseases. The current product mix includes a range of products that covers almost the entire essential drug list or EDL of the government. The company has been conferred with the Mini Ratna status by the government.