New Delhi: Union Minister for Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal has told Parliament that the state governments and civic agencies are responsible for making available the anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug in the country.
In a written reply, Sonowal said that the anti-diabetic formulation BGR-34 was developed and required scientific studies were carried out by the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) -- research units functioning under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
"Availability of the Ayurvedic drug BGR-34 in government hospitals and dispensaries in the country falls under the
domain of procurement agencies of the concerned state government/public sector undertaking (PSU's)/Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS)/ municipalities/ Employee State Insurance (ESI), etc," he said
in his reply.
"Since BGR-34 is licensed under proprietary Ayurvedic medicine category and its availability is
possible only through tenders. Inclusion of drug BGR-34 in the tender depends on the responsive bid, price and qualifying approved SOP for procurement norms of concerned procurement agency," he said.
As per officials, the CSIR had transferred the technology to AIMIL pharmaceuticals to bring the BGR-34 drug into the retail market. Apart from controlling blood sugar, the herbal drug is also rich in anti-oxidants.