Even as the self-licensing software, Xtended Licensing and Laboratory Note (XLN) developed and adopted by the Gujarat Food & Drugs Control Administration, (FDCA) has won plaudits from across the country, the regulatory authority is putting in efforts to further strengthen its already established e-governance programme to higher levels. Recognising the value of this unique programme which is a stand alone achievement in itself ,the Gujarat government has nominated the e-governance programme for the prime minster's award for excellence in public administration.
As a huge recognition to the efforts made by the Gujarat FDCA to ensure industry friendly services that helps in smooth functioning of duties, the chief secretary of the Gujarat state government after rigorous scrutiny approved it and send a proposal for nomination to the central government on August 13. This award is given by the government of India (GoI) as a recognition to those initiatives and efforts that is aimed at improving the socio economic and administrative set up of the country. For this purpose, GoI invites proposal from all the states to nominate their representatives for the awards in different categorise for the function that takes place in Delhi in April every year.
This year the state government, along with other entries, nominated the XLN software which is a well accepted initiative developed by the state regulatory officials to help the regulators perform their duties more effectively by enabling speedy disposal of various application while bringing in transparency to the system. The beauty of this system is that it is tailor made to address not only the needs of the regulatory officials but also helps in brining in more productively in the whole process.
Dr H G Koshia, commissioner, FDCA who had pioneered the e-governance programme in the state, says,“We are very much thrilled by this nomination as it recognises our efforts at a national level and reinstates our belief in continuing the good work further. Most importantly it helps us in performing our duties systematically in a time- bound manner without any unreasonable delay which is not only well accepted by the industry but also is easily accessible for any interested parties bringing in transparency to the whole system.”
Through this software the FDCA regulates the sales and manufacturing aspects related to drugs, food and cosmetics; issuance of licenses etc. The best feature of this software is that it enables the registration of all the pharmacists and chemists which prevents multiple illegal enrolment of pharmacists.
Dr Koshia further informed that this software was mainly developed with an aim to control and bring a check on the activities of the stakeholders in the state to ensure public safety and their welfare.
This is the first ever initiative taken by any drug controller in the country for regulating the drug distribution system so aptly by bringing in place a system that will ensure effective recall of not of standard drugs (NSQ's) instantly.
Commending the efforts of the Gujarat FDCA for initiating steps for modelling its administrative functions in the line of corporate culture, Chirag Doshi, chairman of the Indian Drugs Manufacturer's Association, Gujarat State Board says, “The industry is very happy with the changes that the Gujarat FDCA has made in its administrative functioning, as it has reduced lot of paper work and travelling of our representatives to the head office. We are proud to say that the entire online system has been initiated in Gujarat and had been done in the larger interest of the industry.”
He further adds that along with the slew of initiatives they also have a couple of suggestions which can be included in the software. They have already submitted a representation to the Gujarat FDCA requesting them to implement this system for faster delivery of services.
Regarding this , Dr Koshia informed that they are always open to all suggestions from the stakeholders as it is for the general good that they work and will take all the requisite steps to implement the suggestions after careful consideration. “Everyday we are improving and updating ourselves so that we can deliver the best services possible to the people of Gujarat. But I would also like to thank all our stakeholders and the industry members for supporting us in all our endeavours in making Gujarat an ideal pharma hub of the country,” Dr Koshia added.
The e-governance programme adopted in Gujarat is believed to be the best in the country as the Gujarat FDCA is continuously evolving itself by adopting new changes to it, like the online application for additional API product licences that was launched recently. Under FDCA online application programme for additional API product licences, all the manufacturers who wish to apply for API product license in the state will from now on have to compulsorily apply for the same through online only.
With this the Gujarat has become the only state to have adopted this software in the country which was specifically developed keeping in mind the demand of the state regulatory body. The software which was developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) in collaboration with Gujarat FDCA was launched early this year, after running it on a pilot basis to check its effectiveness and user-friendliness of the same.
According to Koshia, FDCA have already issued instructions making the online applications for additional product licenses mandatory for all the API drug manufacturers in the state. “With this move, we have taken one more step towards achieving our goal towards becoming a pioneer of adopting e-governance system into our organisation. We want to ensure that everything is computerised, so that delivery of services become more prompt and efficient. The industry has also shown a positive response on this as they get prompt reply on their applications filed.”
He informed that as soon as an application for product license is received by the system it is immediately sent to the concerned officer from the FDCA's office.
Taking their initiative further, the Gujarat FDCA is also working on launching online applications for additional product licenses for formulations as well. They have already started with the process and have launched it on a trail basis to study the performance and the practical issues with the software before making it mandatory. Dr Koshia informed that if things go as planned the FDCA may launch it on a full scale and make it compulsory for all the manufacturers within three to four months.