In order to find an amicable and lasting solution to the long standing demand of the Ayurveda, Siddha & Unani (ASU) drug manufacturers for exemption from Weights & Measures Rules which mandates strict labelling provisions, the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry has formed a standing committee comprising of different ministries and industry associations. The committee will convene its first meeting soon, sources said.

Additional secretary in the Consumer Affairs Ministry will head the committee which will have representatives from ministries of health, chemicals, food processing, etc and also representatives from major industry associations like ADMA, sources said.

Earlier, the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry had summarily rejected the ASU drug manufacturers plea for exemption of ISM units from Weights & Measures Rules on par with allopathic drug manufacturers, on the ground that since the allopathic industry is well covered by other Rules to take care of the labelling issues, there is no need to bring it under the Weights & Measures Rules.

Ever since the ministry amended the Standards of Weights & Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules 1977 way back in the year 2007 to include ASU products under its ambit, the ASU drug manufacturers have been on warpath demanding the government to treat the ASU industry on par with the allopathic medicines on the packaging issue by exempting them from the amendments.

On this, the Consumer Affairs Ministry had set up an inter-ministerial group last year to rationalize the labelling requirements on packaged commodities under different laws. After several rounds of meetings, the group failed to come up with a solution to the issue. In its report in December, 2008, the inter-ministerial group said that this issue has to be considered separately.

In fact, the union health ministry had supported the ASU industry's demand and had made recommendations to the consumer affairs ministry.

It is due to the pressures exerted by the Ayush department and the industry that the consumer affairs ministry finally agreed to constitute a standing committee to harmonise the labelling requirements on packages under different laws.

As per the amended Standards of Weights & Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules 1977, it is mandatory for the ASU manufacturers to mention on the medicine label, details like the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, if available, of the person who can be contacted in case of consumer's complaint.

The amendments have put the ASU drug manufacturers in the country in a precarious situation as re-training and informing over 9400 manufacturers and thousands of products and packs are proving to be an arduous task. However, the ministry had exempted the allopathic medicines from the purview of this amendment.