Catching up with the booming pace of Indian drug industry, the DCGI office reining the Rs 65,000-crore industry has got a corporate make-over in the plush and sprawling FDA Bhavan that is waiting to be formally inaugurated next month.

Besides wearing an ultramodern touch, vying to match with the best corporate house headquarters in all aspects from interiors to the exteriors, from reception to the conference hall, from waiting room to meet the DCGI to library, the new headquarters has also put in a transparent and smooth system of functioning in place to make it industry friendly, thanks to the commitment of DCGI Dr Surinder Singh.

Though officially coming into effect only from November, the system of clearing the applications in different categories is being implemented as per a time-frame, which is displayed in lobby. The clearances, notices, status of pending applications and correspondence in all matters are also put out on the notice boards on a daily basis to enable the industry to know about the status of their applications.

As per the new time-frame, the export NOC and test licences will be cleared in four weeks while application for BE exports in six weeks. The FDC first response in 6 weeks and registration in 12 weeks will be cleared, as per the time-frame displayed. Likewise, a time-frame has been fixed for every kind of application.

"We have made the system to ease out the crowd. There is a token system to submit the applications. There is no need for loitering around for anyone to painfully gauge the status of their applications. Because, it is displayed on the notice boards everyday. If the clearance gets delayed beyond the time limit or any other complaint is there, there is another special section to seek clarification as Assistant Drug Controllers will be handling the complaints. Different days in a week have been fixed for different sections like biotechnology, medical devices etc in this regard as concerned ADC would sit there,"' said Dr Singh while leading Pharmabiz team all around the places inside the new five-storey building.

Three floors had been given to the DCGI in the building which will be formally inaugurated sometime next month. Much ahead of the CDA formation, the DCGI has already set up separate and exclusive cells for different categories like exports, biotechnology, medical devices, pharmacovigilance, legal affairs, BE studies etc. It also boasts of library and conference halls.

Dr Singh said he is also planning to set up a data resources centre to update all information and data regarding the manufacturing, exports and monitoring of drugs so that anyone can get information at a finger touch. The steps are also going on to introduce the e-governance as some IT firms have already been short-listed for the purpose.

Though the building has been ready for nearly two years, efforts were taken to give finishing touches and shifting of the DCGI office started only after Dr Singh took over in February. He has vowed to bring in a corporate culture to the functioning after assuming charge. A stroll through the interiors in the new state-of-the-art building can easily endorse the claim that finally Indian drug administration system has got an excellent headquarters, which can match with that of any other developed countries. The recent Brazil, USFDA and Canada Health delegations have also felt the same, if their reactions are any indications.