Government News

An Engagement Coordination and Arrangement (ECA) on Maternal, Adolescent, Child care and Nutrition in Kolhan division in Jharkhand between National Health Mission, Tata Steel Foundation and American India Foundation under the flagship project MANSI+ (Maternal and Neonatal Survival Initiative+) was signed today at the office of National Health Mission (NHM), Ranchi.

 IPC organised the virtual training on Pharmacovigilance for NABH Accredited Hospitals in India on 21st January 2022. The Training Programme was intended to provide a platform for the NABH-Accredited Hospitals to understand the systems and procedures involved in ADR-reporting and relevant practises.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Overseas Limited and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare UK Trading Limited (Acquirers) of shareholding in GlaxoSmithKline Asia Private Limited (Target) under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.

The government of India made the Quick Response (QR) code mandatory on every bulk drug manufactured or imported in India to curb counterfeit or spurious quality of medicines. This rule will be applicable from 1st January 2023.

The QR code will help track and trace bulk drugs (Active pharmaceutical ingredients or APIs) during the entire supply chain. And it will ensure that the quality of APIs should not be altered.

​The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare includes Liquid Antiseptics for household use in schedule K after making an amendment in the Drugs Rules, 1945. Government had released draft notification with consultation with DTAB in September 2021. These rules may be called the Drugs 2nd Amendment Rules, 2022.

Indian Pharmacists will soon allow the sale of certain medicines without the prescription, as per new over the counter (OTC) policy for drugs. The Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB)  has approved the new OTC policy and a draft notification will soon be issued by the health ministry.

Antiviral medicine molnupiravir which recently got approval from the CDSCO in India and is being manufactured by many pharma companies, has serious safety concerns, and thus has not been included in the national COVID-19 clinical protocol recommended by the health ministry, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director general Balram Bhargava said.

Bhargava said the COVID-19 task force has debated twice whether to include the Molnupiravir in the COVID-19 treatment protocol but decided against it because of concerns.

Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday, 28 December, announced that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had approved two more COVID-19 vaccines and COVID-19 pill for restricted emergency use in India.

Two COVID-19 vaccines which are approved for restricted emergency use in India named Corbevax and Covovax. And Covid-19 pill from merck Molnupiravir is amongst the approved antiviral for COVID-19 in India.