The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced on Wednesday that a new policy will be put in place that will reward people who provide information regarding manufacturing of such drugs.
Not only this, Mr. Azad assured in the Rajya Sabha that the law would be amended accordingly so as to successfully handle this problem.
He was quoted as saying, “The government plans to bring the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill for creating a Central Drug Authority. This will pave the way for making the regulatory mechanism robust.”
“Whistle blower” scheme
Answering to a debate started by Brinda Karat (CPI–M), on the functioning of his Ministry, he explained that a “whistle blower” scheme is on the cards.
Under this plan Rs. 2 to 20 lakh will be awarded to anyone who gives information pertaining to the manufacturing of fake drugs.
He added, “We expect lot of people, including laborers working in such units, to come forward to provide information without disclosing their identity.”
Severe punishment for accused
The government is also planning to put in place special courts that can help facilitate speedy trial of those accused in the manufacturing of fake drugs.
At present, the highest penalty that a person has to pay for this crime is Rs. 10 lakh. He also has to serve life time imprisonment. But Mr. Azad said, “Left to me, I am for capital punishment. The menace could be checked even if life imprisonment was awarded to one or two such manufacturers.”
Other people who took part in this debate were Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley, former Union Health Minister and BJP MP, C.P. Thakur, Syed A. Pasha (CPI), DMK’s Vasanthi Stanley, R.C. Khuntia, Maya Singh (BJP), and A. Elavarasan (AIADMK).
The government will also formulate an elaborate Bill on organ transplants soon.
Dangerous Drugs
Counterfeit pharmaceuticals has been hurting countries all over the world. It's nice to see more action taken to counter it.
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