The Department of Pharmaceuticals' (DoP) task force has recommended sweeping regulatory changes including setting up of a high level coordination committee and constitution of a promotional corporate body or registered society on the lines of Pharmexcil to enable private sector to lead the growth of pharmaceutical industry in the country.

The Task Force, headed by secretary, DoP, recommended a better industry government linkage with respect to coordination and consultation, which would enable the private sector to lead the growth of pharmaceuticals sector. In this regard, the task force recommended to set up a high level coordination committee to periodically review the constraints and issues faced by the pharmaceutical sector and also to coordinate and facilitate resolution of these issues, problems on a periodic basis.

The high level coordination committee, headed by secretary, DoP, will have representatives from the ministry of health and family welfare; ministry of environment, forests and climate change; department of industrial policy and promotion; department of commerce; department of science and technology; department of biotechnology, etc. Other invited members may be decided by the chairman which may include chairman, NPPA, DCGI, Pollution Control Board etc, the Task Force recommended.

The Task Force further recommended the constitution of a promotional corporate body/registered society, modeled on the lines of Pharmexcil, under DoP in which all the stakeholders (government and industry) may be represented as members to act as a facilitating and promotional body for the Indian pharmaceutical industry.

This body will hold periodic seminars/ workshops, Indian Pharmaceutical Summit, sponsor studies, brand-awareness campaign about various concerns raised in media, collect data about the various parameters of industrial activity in pharmaceutical sector and implement promotional schemes, besides identifying redundant processes and bring it to the notice of the concerned agencies to simplify the approval processes. This body will also create a single unified electronic platform for facilitating clearance to reduce time and efforts.

To provide thrust to the pharma sector, a task force on 'Enabling the Private Sector to lead the growth of Pharmaceutical Sector' was set up by the DoP in November last year, which was headed by secretary, DoP and consisted of representatives from Planning Commission, department of industrial policy and promotion, department of science and technology, department of biotechnology and various industry associations including IPA, IDMA, BDMA, OPPI, AIMED, CIIO, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, FOPE etc.