Karnataka drugs control department has received a budget allocation of Rs.40.27 crore for this fiscal 2014-15. The department has planned a slew of initiatives including setting up of a second Government College of Pharmacy at Gulbarga and NABL accreditation for its two drug test labs at Hubli and Bellary.
This year’s budget allocation is seen to be sufficient to pursue much of the efforts to drive the department to efficiency. We have received Rs.19.92 crore under the Plan category and the share under Non Plan is Rs.19.17 crore taking the total allocation to Rs.40.27 crore, Raghurama Bhandary, Karnataka drugs controller told Pharmabiz.
To begin, with the department is gearing up to establish the second Government College of Pharmacy at Gulbarga in north Karnataka, the first one is at Bengaluru is a 50 year-old institution. The land has been identified and we are going for construction of the same. The commissioning of the institution will take anywhere between 18-24 months, he added.
In the meanwhile the department has also proposed to the state government to clear 158 teaching and non teaching staff posts for the second GCP at Gulbarga. This is awaiting Cabinet nod, said the Karnataka DC.
In an effort to sustain the state-of the-art laboratory infrastructure, the department is now wanting to upgrade the Drug Test Labs in Hubli and Bellary making it in a modular format. The government out of the allocation of Rs.40.27 crore has set aside Rs.4.9 crore for this purpose. The process of calling for tenders for this project will commence soon, he said.
The department has also received a funding to the tune of Rs.5 crore from the World Bank for purchase of instruments and equipment to futher strengthen its laboratory.
In order to ensure that all the three labs in the state are NABL certified, the state drugs control department has now embarked on taking steps towards this accreditation. “The DTL in Bengaluru is already certified. However the whole process is a lengthy one and we are keen to ensure that the two DTL would also be NABL compliant,” said drugs controller Bhandary.
The state has a total of 182 blood banks, of these two facilities are for the storage of stem cells only. Now the department has also persuaded each of the 180 blood banks to update the daily availability of the blood and blood components on the web site so as to enable the public and hospitals to ascertain its easy access during medical emergencies.
On the manpower front, the department has 49 drug inspectors(DIs). The shortfall is estimated at 63 DIs would soon narrow down as 11 of these posts are in the process of being filled up through the Karnataka Public Service Commission. It has also submitted its proposal for 50 more DI posts. This would complete the requirement of the personnel in the enforcement wing, he said.