The Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has urged the World Bank to extend the World Bank sponsored Food and Drugs Capacity Building Project, which has been closed by the Bank on June 30 this year. The project was started by the World Bank to improve the quality and safety of foods and drugs in India, by strengthening the regulatory framework and incorporating components of consumer education and public-private partnerships.

According to sources, the FDA made the demand for further extension of the project to a World Bank delegation which had recently visited Mumbai to take stock of the impact of project. A two-member World Bank team was in Mumbai on September 17 and 18. Apart from the Maharashtra FDA, senior members of other state drug administration and representatives of DCGI also made their presentations to the World Bank officials on the implementation and impact of the project in India.

Arguing for further extension of the project, the Maharashtra FDA said that though the project has benefited in a big way to improve the testing laboratories and training the regulatory and other staff, much more needed to be done on this front. The FDA wanted World Bank assistance for upgrading its sample testing capacity from the existing 8500 samples a year to 11500 samples a year. It also wanted to upgrade its sterility and microbiology testing facilities. Besides, it also wanted the Bank assistance for upgrading the air-handling units (AHUs).

The project was aimed to provide training to food inspectors and analysts in public sector laboratories and to strengthen the government's regulatory capacity for ensuring drugs quality at the central and state levels. Under the project, several rounds of training programmes were conducted for the regulatory officials, scientific officers and analysts at NIPER in Chandigarh.