Niti to review concerns over pharma quality

New Delhi: Growing quality concerns in the pharmaceutical industry has prompted government's think tank Niti Aayog to step in. It has called industry experts to hold discussions with them and undertake an analysis of the current state of India's pharmaceutical industry, to understand the challenges faced by them and initiatives taken by them to ensure production of safe and effective products.

With the idea to raise quality of Indian pharmaceutical products to global standards, a meeting will be held on Monday under the chairmanship of member health VK Paul.

"Ensuring high quality production to meet International regulations and standards has been a challenge," said an office memorandum by Niti Aayog.


Niti Aayog said that a rigorous focus on quality is essential to ensure patient safety and trust in public health in the domestic market.

In a meeting to be held on Monday, Dr Paul will propose recommendations to ensure that India's pharmaceutical products are at par with global standards, people in the know told ET.

According to the memorandum, with the strong network of manufacturing units across the country it is essential to invest in and uphold the highest quality standards for pharmaceuticals.

There are about 3,000 Pharmaceutical companies and 10,500 manufacturing units across the country.

India has long been known as the pharmacy of the world, ranking third globally in drug and pharmaceutical and production by volume.

According to Niti Aayog, India exports to 200 countries.