The Government on Monday introduced a Bill which seeks to accord special status to six more institutes of pharmaceutical education and research as well as set up a council for these institutes. The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
The Bill, introduced in Lok Sabha in March this year and referred thereafter to the Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers, seeks to amend the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Act, 1998, which established the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), at Mohali in Punjab and declared it as an Institution of National Importance.
With the amendment, six more institutes of pharmaceutical education and research will be declared as Institutions of National Importance. These institutes are at Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Hajipur, Hyderabad,Kolkata and Raebareli. It also proposes to bring down the membership of the board of governors — mandated to manage the institute's affairs — of each NIPER from the current 23 to 12 members.
Initiating debate on the Bill, Abdul Khalek from the Congress said the Bill, which seeks to bring down the number of members from 23 to 12, has also led to removal of three MPs from the governing council. Saugata Roy (TMC) demanded that the Government provide permanent campus to these institutes.
Stressing that there is need to focus on capacity building, BJP's Rajdeep Roy said it will help train manpower. Participating in the discussion, Sanjeev Kumar Singari (YSRCP) said industrialists should be incentivised for every research undertaken.
He said the country's youth are talented and there is a need to train them in the pharma sector. Alok Kumar Suman of JD(U) said with this Bill, research in the pharmaceutical sector will be strengthened.