The Drug Consultative Committee (DCC) sub-committee on ‘harmonisation of action against Not-of-Standard Quality Medicines’ (NSQM) headed by D Roy, deputy drug controller general, North Zone, will meet on February 15 in Chennai to discuss changes to be brought in the Drugs & Cosmetics Act (Amendment) 2008 for according stringent punishment for manufacturing not-of-standard drugs in the country.  

This will be the first meeting of this committee, which was constituted by the DCGI in the 41st DCC meeting held on October 10th last year. The meeting will discuss methods to control the problem of NSQM in the country.

A source closely associated with the subcommittee informed, “The meeting will more or less focus on enhancing the punishment for the culprits involved in the making of NSQM. Its main intention being to create stricter norms that will create fear about the law and discourage them from such activities in future.”

The DCC subcommittee, which is headed by D Roy who is also the DCC member secretary, is assisted by the seven drug controllers' from across the country. The sub committee members include Salim Veljee, director, Goa Foods and Drugs Control Administration; H G Koshia, commissioner, Gujarat Food & Drugs Control Administration, (FDCA); M Bhaskaran, drugs controller, Tamil Nadu ; Satish Gupta, controller, drugs & food control organisation, J&K; Seema Vyas, commissioner, FDA Maharashtra; Ram Mohan Sharma, drugs controller, Haryana and P N Saraswat/D K Shringi, drugs controller, Rajasthan.

Even though there are a set of guidelines which prescribes punishment for the perpetrators who are involved in the making of NSQM under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act (Amendment) 2008, the DCC feels that they are not enough to discourage and stop them from continuing such malpractices. It is with this view that the subcommittee was set up by the DCGI to discuss on the possibility of having stricter norms that will ensure enhancement of the punishment under the amended Act.