The newly created Pharmaceutical Department, which has additional responsibility of research and training, has launched consultations with other departments and agencies of the Central government to map out new areas of research and encourage industry for taking up such projects.

Creating better infrastructure, mapping of new areas which are not handled at present by other departments, extending common facilities to small and medium level companies and mobilisation of additional manpower for the purpose of research will be part of the action plan being adopted by the new department, it is learnt.

The department has already begun consultations with health, science and technology, biotechnology and other concerned departments to avoid duplications and it is coordinating with agencies like Indian Medical Council of Research and CSIR. If needed, a permanent coordination mechanism is also likely to come up to streamline the research activities.

"We will find out new research areas and will seek fund support and separate allocation as per that. Already the allocations had been made to other departments for the current Plan period, we don't want to get things duplicated now,'' sources said.

Noting that the small companies were finding it difficult to take up research works given the huge infrastructure requirements, the department is planning to ensure common facilities and government infrastructure for them. "NIPER is going have a critical role in the scheme of things. Focus will also be on educating the people on research. Besides, there is a huge shortage of manpower in the booming clinical research area. We will look into the options to solve it,'' sources said.

The sources also pointed out that public-private partnerships will be promoted in a big way in research sector as the government wants to take up the role of a facilitator by extending its infrastructure to the private companies. At present, the research works related to pharma are being carried and handled by different agencies like ICMR, CSIR and DST, besides the NIPERs. One of the key focuses of the new department hence is to identify the unexplored areas and segments.