 "Need panel to manage turf war: Pharma dept")
Modi, who is in the process of meeting secretaries from each department separately, is learnt to be keen on health care issues, including making essential medicines affordable and accessible across the country.
However, officials in both DoP as well as Ministry of Health and Family Welfare are concerned that issues and decisions related to health care are stuck because of severe overlapping between the two ministries. "This often also results in inter-ministerial conflicts and lack of clarity," an official, in the know of developments, told Business Standard. For instance, while the health ministry looks after quality and procurement of medicines and vaccines and regulates clinical trials etc, DoP - the administrative department for the drug manufacturing industry which also conducts trials - falls under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers. However, DoP's role is largely limited to regulating prices of medicines.
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Official sources said the DoP secretary's presentation to Modi will also suggest ways to expand the role of the department. The Cabinet Secretariat had earlier asked the secretaries to prepare a ten-slide presentation for the prime minister, listing success and failures of the past regime as well as points of action for the next five years.
Though the new government, under Modi's leadership, recently decided to abolish all the Empowered Group of Ministers and Group of Ministers in order to expedite the decision-making process, Johri is apparently of the view that setting up a high-level panel might help sort out inter-ministerial differences and speed up certain key decisions related to healthcare in public interest, sources said.
Apart from DoP and the health ministry, there are also other government departments looking at other important issues concerning public health. For instance, many matters related to patented medicines fall under the purview of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, which looks after intellectual property rights issues, whereas trade-related issues are looked after by the ministries of commerce and finance.
"The department would propose to institutionalise a set-up with representatives from all such concerned ministries and departments. There are several areas such as clinical trials, medical devices and essential medicines where there is over-lapping and often, decisions are not taken because of this," the official, privy to the presentation, said. Setting up of a committee with specific terms of reference would mean somebody piloting such issues by either making recommendations or taking decisions right there, the official added.
In the past, several decisions in the sector have been delayed due to such inter-ministerial differences. For instance, despite a Supreme Court intervention, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy took almost ten years to take a final shape and get a Cabinet approval. This was primarily because ministries failed to resolve differences and arrive at a consensus while determining a list of essential medicines and fixing a formula to cap their prices. Similarly, there is still a lack of clarity on the government's policy on foreign direct investment (FDI) in brownfield or existing pharmaceutical units in the country. Though 100 per cent FDI is allowed in the sector, in the previous government, different ministries had different concerns with some even strongly recommending a lower cap on foreign investments in such units.
When ministries such as health, commerce and finance failed to arrive at a consensus and bring clarity on the policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to intervene to expedite approvals to many long-pending investment proposals as the government was in dire need to bring down the current account deficit.
In view of such conflicts, DoP's proposal might hold some ground before Modi. In fact, the Bharatiya Janata Party's election manifesto had also highlighted the need of streamlining government departments in the sector while addressing overlaps and creating a single-window system. It also talked about the possibility of an "overarching lean body" as regulator and converging departments into one that would look into all health-related areas such as food, nutrition and pharma.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is learnt to be keen on health care issues, including making essential medicines affordable and accessible across the country
- The role of DoP, under the under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, is largely limited to regulating prices of medicines
- The health ministry looks after the quality and procurement of medicines and vaccines, and regulates clinical trials
- Both DoP and health ministry officials say issues and decisions related to health care are stuck because of severe overlapping between the two ministries
- DoP secretary's presentation to Modi will suggest ways to expand the role of the department, according to official sources