A Parliamentary Standing Committee has taken exception to the undue delay in amending two crucial legislations — the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945 and has asked the AYUSH Ministry to “vigorously” pursue the matter within a given time frame.
“The Committee notes that there has been a recurring delay in amending the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertise-ments) Act 1954 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945.
“Though the process of amending the said Acts and Rules has been set in motion, its logical culmination is still a distance away. The committee would like the Ministry to vigorously pursue the matter of amending the said Act and Rules within a given time frame,” said the panel led by Ram Gopal Yadav.
It noted that though the process of amending has begun, its logical culmination was still a “distance away”.
In its action taken report, the government said the Health department under whose jurisdiction task force for suggesting amendments in the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertise-ments) Act 1954 was constituted, has been requested to expedite consolidation of the amendment provisions recommended by the task force and views received by stakeholders and government departments.
The Government also said that the recommendations of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani Drugs Technical Advisory Board (ASUDTAB) regarding curbing the problem of misleading advertisements of ASU drugs has been taken up by the Ministry.
It further said action has also been initiated for inserting a new provision of prior approval of advertisement contents in the Drugs and Cosmetics rules 1945.
The draft notification of the proposed amendments rules is being processed for finalisation, followed by approval of the competent authority and vetting by law Ministry.