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New Delhi : Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi on June 3, 2020, gave its approval to re-establish Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) as Subordinate Office under Ministry of AYUSH by merging into it Pharmacopoeia Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM) and Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (HPL), the two central laboratories established at Ghaziabad since 1975.
At present, Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) is an autonomous body under the aegis of Ministry of AYUSH established in 2010. The merger is aimed at optimising the use of infrastructural facilities, technical manpower and financial resources of the three organisations for enhancing the standardisation outcomes of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and Homoeopathy drugs towards their effective regulation and quality control.
This merger will facilitate focused and cohesive development of standards of AYUSH drugs and publication of pharmacopoeias and formularies. It is also intended to accord legal status to the merged structure of PCIM&H and its laboratory by virtue of making necessary amendment and enabling provisions in the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules, 1945, according to a PIB release.
Consultation in this regard has been held with the Director General Health Services, Drugs Controller General and Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani Drugs Technical Advisory Board (ASUDTAB), a statutory body under the provisions of Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940, meant for advising Central and State Governments in regulatory matters of ASLT (Accelerated Shelf-Life Testing) drugs.
Post-merger PCIM&H will have adequate administrative structure under the Ministry to strive for augmenting the capacity and outcomes of pharmacopoieal work, achieving harmonisation of pharmacopoeial standards of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs, preventing duplication and overlapping of drug standardisation work and optimal utilisation of resources in effective manner.