The All India Drug Control Officers Confederation (AIDCOC) has urged the Union health ministry and the Union Public Services Commission to stay the process of filing applications to the post of Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) through deputation or promotion as prescribed in the advertisement (GSR - 452 E) dated 14.6.2011 as it contains anomalies which need to be rectified.

According to them the advertisement was given violating the clauses of qualification and experience prescribed in the Rule 49(A) and 50(A) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945.

In a letter to the Union Health Secretary and to the Chairman of the UPSC, the association said the advertisement is in violation of the statutory requirement of qualification and experience prescribed under Rule 49A and 50A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 (D&C Rules) and hence it has to be cancelled. According to AIDCOC, the qualification clause in the D&C Rules does not demand a post graduate in Chemistry for DCGI post. The advertisement gives eligibility to those persons possessing post graduate degree in Chemistry to apply for the post.

Similarly, as per the experience clause, candidates having fifteen years experience in dealing with the problems connected with drugs standardization and control of drugs standards have been considered eligible. This is also in violation of the experience norms stipulated in the D&C Rules, the drug control officers alleged.

They wanted that the officer appointed to the said post must possess the qualification and experience as stipulated under Rule 49(A) and 50(A) of the D&C Rules 1945. According to them the experience clause specifically requires that a person should have experience in enforcement of the D&C Act 1940. So, the general experience “fifteen years experience in dealing with problems connected with drugs standardization and control of drugs standards” as provided in the advertisement cannot be considered adequate for the purpose of appointment to the post of Drugs Controller India.

R Udaya Bhaskar, general secretary of AIDCOC, while speaking to Pharmabiz said the given advertisement has been drafted deliberately to suit somebody’s qualification to install him/her to the post. A former candidate, who also wants to apply this time, Dr N Elangeswaran from Chennai said the advertisement is meant to suit the present DCGI to pave way for him to come back again to the highest office.

According to Udaya Bhaskar, the qualification clause in the D&C Rules includes only degree in pharmacy, pharmaceutical chemistry or degree in medicine with specialization in clinical pharmacology or microbiology from university established in India by law. No other degree or even equivalent degree is considered suitable for the purpose of Rule 49(A) and 50(A). He said the general experience clause is included just to appoint persons having administrative experiences in the Drugs Control Organization. This will defeat the purpose of statutory requirements stipulated under Rule 49(A) and 50 (A) of the Act.

So the present advertisement is not as per Rule 49(A) and 50(A), and the anomalies contained in it have to be rectified, the letter to the health secretary said. The All India Drugs Control Officers Confederation is representing Drugs Control Officers working in all the states as well as CDSCO.