The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on an initiative to issue its latest notifications, circulars and technical information in the web-space by renovating its existing website. The website, with an interactive nature, will be launched within three months, according to the FDA officials.

The new facilities include interactive facility for the public to raise their issues related to usage of drugs, updating of notifications and orders from the FDA headquarters and the regional licensing authorities and issuance of technical information for licensing, renewal of license and the various formats of applications provided as online.

"At present, we have an old form of website in which there is no such interactive facilities. The entire procedure followed by our office will be there in the web domain. Our plan is to leverage maximum from the technology to spread awareness among the public," Amitabh Chandra, commissioner, Maharashtra FDA told Pharmabiz. He added that the new website would also allocate a fixed space for suggestions and complaints from the public and the industry.

The new website will be designed and developed by the Mumbai based Cybertech Networks Pvt Ltd, with the fund allocated by the Maharashtra state government. The current website of FDA is www.fda-mah.com. The computerisation of FDA offices, under the modernisation programme funded by the central government, is also on progress in the state, added the officials.