The four constituent bodies of Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association (IPCA) have come forward to jointly seek amendment to IPCA constitution for ensuring equal representation for all constituent associations. The Association of Pharmacy Teachers of India (APTI), Indian Hospital Pharmacists Association (IHPA), Indian Pharmacy Graduates Association (IPGA) and All India Drugs Control Officers Confederation (AIDCOC) that met here recently passed a joint resolution for reconstitution of IPCA.
In a letter to IPCA general secretary A Krishna Dev, they wanted IPCA to urgently take up the long pending issue of equal representation to all constituent bodies of IPCA and equal sharing of surplus funds generated by Local Organising Committee of each Indian Pharmaceutical Congress (IPC).
The associations asked the secretary to initiate immediate steps to amend the constitution of IPCA to make sure that each of the constituent body of IPCA is having equal representations and voting rights in IPCA. The associations also said that the surplus funds generated after conducting each IPC should be distributed equally amongst all constituent bodies and felt that opportunity to host IPC should be given to all constituent bodies by rotation.
Currently, Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) is the major constituent association in the umbrella organization called IPCA. The IPA is enjoying certain additional privileges, which the other members wanted to be curtailed for more democratic representation.
The letter has requested the IPCA secretary to take note of the three points and "ensure that a report of a committee constituted under the chairmanship of Gopala Krishnamurthy is submitted to IPCA before 30th Oct 2004 and action taken thereon in statutory meeting in December 2004". The junior members in IPCA felt that the current body would take these issues on a priority basis " in the interest of cohesive nature of IPCA and profession."