# Raw materials crunch: The peak of the pandemic this year saw vaccine makers in India and indeed across the world, struggle with a shortage of raw materials. Add to that, perennial concerns on the dependence of input material from China.
Addressing this, the Prime Minister urged the Indian pharmaceutical industry to focus on increasing domestic production of key raw materials for medicines and vaccines with the intent of making India self-reliant.
# Ayush discipline: At the same conclave of the pharma industry, top representatives of the government picked up on the PM’s appeal to popularise ancient Indian medicine. Niti Aayog, has suggested the creation of capacities in clinical research and clinical trials for professionals from Ayush disciplines.
# Antibiotic inequities?: Drugmakers are making an effort to improve access to antibiotics, but it’s far less than the scale of requirement, says Jayasree Iyer of the Access to Medicine Foundation (ATM) in the latest report on anti-microbial resistance (AMR).
# Small entrepreneur woes: This is probably one of the worst phases for MSMEs as they are being hammered by multiple challenges at the same time. While Covid inflicted huge pains to MSMEs, the recovery process is also turning out to be challenging.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-states/article37572004.ece
# Avoid unsettling U-turns: Singapore’s Prime Minister has said that the country was gradually easing Covid-19 safety measures and making sure the situation stabilises with each step, to avoid “unsettling” U-turns.