The Centre is hoping to inaugurate two more National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs) at Rae Bareli in UP and Guwahati in Assam in a couple of months from now and launch courses, taking the total number of NIPERS to seven.

The Centre has also appointed a consultant to recommend the ways to improve the functioning and study the existing system at four newly-launched NIPERs. The consultant agency is expected to submit the recommendations next month.

"The consultant was appointed to study the role of mentor institutes and functioning and suggest ways to further improve the overall functioning of the institutes. The government will take action in line with advice by the consultant. It will also report on the public-private partnership model of the premier institutes," sources said.

Besides, the Pharmaceutical department, which is holding charge of the pharma education, is in consultation with the respective state governments to start the new NIPERs. Central Drug Research Institute of Lucknow may be the mentor institute for Rae Bareli NIPER which is likely to be operational by October.

Though the four NIPERs were set up last year in Ahmedabad, Hajipur, Hyderabad and Kolkata, all were afflicted by initial troubles including lack of manpower, according to media reports. The four institutes were under the mentor institutes such as Indian Institute of Chemicals Technology (IICT) Hyderabad, Indian Institute of Chemicals Biology (IICB) Kolkata, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) Patna and B V Patel Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Centre (PERD) Centre, Ahmedabad.

It may be recalled that an earlier Pharmabiz report had said that the institutes are yet to get formal approvals which have hampered their functioning including appointment of permanent faculty members for courses.

Sources said that process for selection of the expert for preparation of the detailed project report (including element of Public Private Partnership, wherever possible) for each NIPER has also been started by the Department. Each institute is to be set up at a cost of Rs 200 crore each, as per the Cabinet approval in August 2007. A steering Committee has been constituted to oversee the working of new NIPERs and take policy decisions till the Board of Governors (BOG) for each NIPER is formed.