The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry, with its rich scientific talents and research capabilities, supported by Intellectual Property Protection regime, is well set to mark its place in the world, according to Kapil Sibal, minister for science & technology and ocean development, Government of India. He was speaking at the OPPI's 39th Annual General Meeting which took place here today.

He said that India today is emerging as a super power in various fields including, science and technology. Investment of billion dollars is being made in various sectors and Indian Pharma Industry is growing at the faster rate than the IT industry.

He added, "For India to be in the world race, we have to take an initiative in discovering a new drug or the drug molecule in our country, by our own. We have a large section of the society that requires drugs at the lower cost for which we need to have a regulation and monitoring of the drug price. We need to define Essential drugs and make them available at the affordable price as everyone has right to health care and right to access the essential drugs."

"India may become a centre for clinical trials in future. There is a huge scope for our country to grow in this field, provided that the clinical trials here are recognized and accepted anywhere in the world. As the cost of manpower and other infrastructure are relatively low in India as compared to other countries, India may become the hub for Contract research. We can provide the successful projects at modest price without compromising on the quality," said Sibal.

Ranjit Shahani, president, OPPI, released the report on Corporate Social Responsibility, Annual report of OPPI and OPPI Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) guidelines on the occasion.

Also, the OPPI excellence awards for Vendors and Scientists were presented on the occasion. The best Scientist Award was presented to Dr. C S De of National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER) and Institute of Biotechnology, for his excellent work in research.

Dr. Ajit Dangi, Director General, OPPI, talked about OPPI's various initiatives and activities for the year. He emphasised OPPI's leadership role in actively participating in various healthcare and Government policies such as IPR, Good Manufacturing Practices, Public Private Partnership, Corporate Social Responsibility, etc.