New Delhi, April 6: The government has decided to relax export curbs on 24 pharma ingredients and medicines, including vitamin B1 and B12, an official source said on Monday.

But export restrictions on paracetamol and formulations made of paracetamol would remain, the source told PTI. A notification relaxing export norms would be issued very soon, the source said. Coronavirus Outbreak in US: FDA Allows Use of Hydroxychloroquine, Chloroquine to Treat COVID-19.

On March 3, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the commerce ministry, had imposed export restrictions on 26 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and formulations, under which exporter has to obtain a licence or permission from the DGFT.

Easing of curbs on 24 APIs and its formulations assumed significance as certain pharma companies have raised concerns over these restrictions.

"24 APIs and formulations made from these APIs are made free for export with immediate effect," the source said. With this, export of these items is allowed freely without any restrictions.

Earlier, there were no restrictions on outbound shipments of these products. APIs are raw material for pharmaceuticals. India has exported APIs worth about USD 225 million last year. The country's API imports stood at around USD 3.5 billion per year. Out of this, about USD 2.5 billion is from China. Donald Trump Says 'Hydroxychloroquine + Azithromycin' Can be Game Changer in Fight Against Coronavirus; Twitterati Doubt His Claim.

Besides Vitamin B1, B6 and B12, the other APIs and formulations over which the export restrictions have been eased include tinidazole, metronidazole, acyclovir, progesterone, chloramphenicol, ornidazole, formulations made of chloramphenicol, formulations made of clindamycin salts, and formulations made of neomycin. The APIs and formulations included common antibiotics and vitamins.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)