Hyderabad: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Telangana on Wednesday held its first Conference on Pillars of Protection, focusing on industrial safety in pharma and chemical manufacturing, at Hotel Park on Necklace Road.
The event aligns with Telangana’s strategy to scale up its life sciences ecosystem and position Hyderabad as a key pharma hub in Asia.
Director General of Telangana Fire Disaster Response, Emergency and Civil Defence Department, Y Nagi Reddy, IPS, said safety in industry must be built into planning, execution, and maintenance. He urged mandatory annual fire safety audits in the pharmaceutical sector and online submission of reports. “We will trust and don’t verify,” he remarked.
Reddy said Telangana recorded 102 major fire incidents in pharma units over the past decade, with estimated losses over ₹100 crore. One unit alone saw ₹30 crore in property damage and six fatalities. The fire department, he said, saved ₹4,035 crore worth of property in 2023 but still recorded losses of ₹1,223 crore.
Telangana has 147 fire stations, 38 of them in Hyderabad. Firefighting robots have been deployed in Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal, and the department is looking into drones and female firefighter recruitment.
He cited Sections 13 and 19 of the Telangana Fire Service Act, 1999, which require fire clearance for buildings and place responsibility for fire systems on owners and occupants.
Commissionerate of Industries Director Nikhil Chakravarthi, IA&AS, said Hyderabad holds 40–50% of global FDA-approved facilities. He called for safety compliance to be embedded in industry practice, not treated as a formality.
Director of Factories B. Raja Gopala Rao said safety stands on par with production and quality. CDSCO Assistant Drugs Controller Dr Vinay Kumar Gupta and Pharmexcil Director General K. Raja Bhanu reiterated the need for tighter safety norms in chemical manufacturing.
CII Telangana Chairman R. Sivaprasad Reddy said the State accounts for 35% of India’s pharma output and 32% of exports. AVPS Chakravarthi, MD of Ecobliss India and CII Telangana Pharma Panel Convener, also spoke.
Vice Chairman M. Goutham Reddy of CII Telangana said safety leadership must come from the top. He cited the Bhopal gas tragedy as a failure of executive oversight, warning that safety cannot be delegated solely to EHS teams.
