The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health & Family Welfare seeking views on the proposed bill to form the Central Drug Authority of India is receiving more adverse reactions from the industry against its creation with its nationwide tour is coming to an end.
As in the Southern leg of tours and sitting in Delhi where the industry captains expressed strong reservation on the proposed CDA, the panel headed by Amar Singh found few takers for the mechanism at its hearing in Indore recently also, sources said.
Madhya Pradesh Small Scale Drug Manufacturers Association, MP chapters of Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturers Association and Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, MP Druggists and Chemists Association and the Pithampur Audyodig Sangh were among those who came to present the views at the sitting on February 13.
Almost all the associations objected the formation of the CDA and felt that the present norms and laws were sufficient enough to monitor the industry. If at all, some loopholes were there, they should be rectified instead of spending time and money on a brand new mechanism, the panel was told. There was a lack of will power on the part of authorities and uniformity across the country could be brought even in the existing set-up, the participants said.
One of the significant suggestions came up before the panel was to make use of information technology to link the State licensing authorities to make things transparent and also to bring national-level uniformity. Under the CDA also it should be made into use and hence why it should not be used to the maximum benefit now itself and rectify the present system, some associations noted.
Another suggestion from the associations was to equip the state-run laboratories better so that the spurious and sub-standard drugs could be brought under control. In Madhya Pradesh itself, the substandard drug was estimated to be between 7 to 8 per cent while the spurious drugs would be 0.3 per cent. Hence the panel also specifically touched the topic to get views from the industry leaders, it was learnt.
The panel, currently examining the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill seeking to set up the CDA, held meetings in Southern States and Delhi before going to the Central region and the Western region.