The Amar Singh-led Parliamentary Committee on Central Drug Authority (CDA), which has already held several rounds of wide ranging discussions with the stakeholders like pharma industry associations, government officials, experts, organisations, NGOs and consumer forums, is meeting in July to make a final call on further course of action.

Official sources said that the committee, which has almost completed the hearing of various stakeholders, will meet somewhere in July to take the future course of action. However, the exact date of the meeting is yet to be decided. "As of now it can be said that the report t is open-ended. It is not yet certain whether the committee will have another round of discussions with various stakeholders before finalizing the report. Uncertainty also shrouds the issue of inviting Dr RA Mashelkar", an official involved with the CDA said.

There were reports that the committee will have another round of visits to some places before finalising its recommendations and tabling it in Parliament in the winter session which is to get underway in the second week of July. The committee, examining the Drugs and Cosmetics (amendment) Bill, 2007 and Clinical Establishments Bill, 2007, had already sittings in Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai and Hyderabad in the south and Indore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Goa in the west. For hearing the stakeholders from north and north east states, the committee had sittings in Delhi.

Besides, the committee had heard the views of several NGOs and consumer forums. The committee held its last sitting on May 7 in which some NGOs and the representatives of FICCI made presentations on the formation of the CDA.

Sources also said that the committee will take a final decision on the issue of whether to invite former ICSR chairman Dr RA Mashelkar to record his views as the committee's earlier attempts to rope in the renowned scientist did not bear fruits as Dr Mashalkar was preoccupied with engagements.

The evidence of Dr Mashelkar is important as it was in pursuance of the recommendations made by the Mashelkar Committee that the central government has proposed the Bill to make amendments in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 to facilitate the creation of CDA and introduce centralized licensing for drug manufacturing in the country.