The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has wound up its deliberations on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill 2007 which seeks to set up the Central Drug Authority (CDA) and is ready to table its report in the Parliament during the forthcoming winter session.
The panel headed by Amar Singh has recently took the views of former CSIR chairman Dr R A Mashelkar who originally proposed the idea of a centralised drug regulatory system, in its sitting held here recently. Dr Mashelkhar has reportedly clarified on his recommendations and presented his views on the formation of the CDA.
The committee, which held extensive discussions and sittings at different places to take feedbacks from all stakeholders, is understood have finalised its recommendations incorporating both the opposing and supporting views on the CDA and also on the clinical establishment bill. The reports will be presented during the Parliament session commencing on October 17 as sittings have been concluded fully, sources said.
The panel has been holding back drafting of recommendations as evidence from Mashelkar was viewed very significant, especially amid criticism that his original views, submitted in 2003 over the centralised licensing system, were misquoted in the proposed amendment to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
The bill, primarily to set up the comprehensive CDA, was presented in Rajya Sabha on August 21, 2007 and was later referred to the Parliamentary standing committee to examine and put forth its suggestions. The panel has also been examining the Clinical Establishments Bill 2007, seeking to make mandatory the registration of all clinical institutions in the country. The committee, had sittings at Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai and Hyderabad in the south. It also visited Indore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Goa in the west. For hearing the stakeholders from north and north east states, the committee had sittings in Delhi on both the bills.