Karnataka drugs control department which is facing a serious shortage of lab chemists and inspection staff will now have a relief as the state government has permitted the recruitment. The State has also permitted the opening of the dedicated drugs department at Hubli, Dharwad, Bidar and Raichur. So long a handful of inspectors overlooked these operations from the head office at Bangalore and the process of managing the operations becoming difficult and resulting in delays to inspect the pharmaceutical production plants and drug retail outlets.

The decision by the government to romp up staff will add to our efficiency. We are right now understaffed, stated Dr. M Sripathy Rao, Karnataka drug controller.

To begin with the Planning department in the State government has cleared the recruitment of 7 assistant drugs controllers, 20 drug inspectors (DIs). The state requires 37 drug inspectors to look after the operations of 27 districts. We had a shortfall of 27 inspectors. Now the 20 DIs will give us a breather, he stated.

Drug testing is a critical function of the State drugs control department. There is a serious shortfall of chemists here. Because of this, too much time is being taken to generate the reports, stated Dr. Rao. Understanding the seriousness of the personnel shortfall, the State government has cleared the hiring of 28 junior chemists and four senior government analysts.

The State had also approved an earlier requirement of hiring 14 lab technicians (9 diploma holders and 5 B Pharm graduates) through the Karnataka Public Service Commission channel. Out of the 9 diploma holders, 4 have been given the orders to join the department in a month.

In addition another 10 junior chemists are sanctioned under the World Bank scheme. The selection is underway and the candidates who were supposed to work for the new Drug Test Labs being constructed under a World Bank scheme will initially work for the drugs control department's existing DTL and move out to the new DTL once it is ready.

The basic salary of the junior chemist post has been also been doubled under the Fifth Pay Commission from Rs. 5,500 to Rs. 11,000. This will provide some attraction to apply for the job. The increment in salary was long pending. However, despite the problem of getting candidates for the junior chemists which includes attraction towards clinical research organizations (CROs) and pharma companies, there are still takers for government jobs on the grounds of security and permanency in the employment, stated Dr. Rao.