The Health Ministry is learnt to be redrafting the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2007 on the formation of the Central Drug Authority, in line with the recommendations by the Parliamentary panel, and is likely to put up it again in the Rajya Sabha during the forthcoming session.
The ministry is incorporating the amendments suggested by the Parliamentary standing committee on health which opposed the formation of a totally new central authority but called for strengthening the existing set-up to streamline the sector by setting up Central Drug Administration, sources said.
The redrafted bill, much to be in line with the original recommendations made by the Mashelkar panel in 2003, will be presented in the House during the session commencing on December 10. The ministry is keen to place it in the Parliament and get it passed during this session itself as it could be one of the last sittings of the House. If at all general elections are to be taken place after the full term of the present government, next session will be brief to see the presentation of budget and may not take up other bills, sources indicated.
"It is understood that 19 States in the country opposed the formation of a new regime called CDA. But they supported the view of strengthening the central administration if CDSCO should perform the statutory functions efficiently. Out of the 19 States, five were Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu which belonged to the seven States having 75 per cent drug manufacturing units in the country. So the ministry is also giving due importance to this argument," sources said.
The parliamentary panel, headed by Amar Singh, had supported the view of centralised administration but not with a new body called CDA. "The committee fails to understand as to why, instead of implementing, the recommendations of the Mashelkar Committee for strengthening, modernising, restructuring and reforming the existing Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation into a world class system, the government has entered into rigmarole of setting up a new authority, Central Drugs Authority. A small body primarily having members with administrative background taking the place of the two Drug Technical Advisory Boards having technical expertise from allopathic and ASU drug sector is simply not acceptable to the committee," the report said.