Parl clears pharma edu amendment Bill

New Delhi: Parliament on Thursday passed a bill which seeks to accord institute of national importance status to six more institutions of pharmaceutical education and research, start new courses and also set up an advisory council for them.

The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021, passed by the Lok Sabha on December 6, was cleared in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday with a voice vote.

Replying to a discussion on the Bill, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said it will strengthen the National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs) and give priority to research.

The Bill has come with four amendments which includes qualifying six NIPERs as institutes of national importance and introducing undergraduate and diploma courses, he said.

It seeks to amend the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Act, 1998. Through the 1998 legislation, a NIPER was established in Mohali, Punjab. It was declared an institution of national importance.

With the passage of the Bill, six more institutes of pharmaceutical education and research will be declared institutions of national importance. These institutes are in Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Hajipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Raebareli.

The Bill also proposes to bring down the membership of the board of governors mandated to manage the affairs at each NIPER from the current 23 to 12.

Highlighting the main features of the amendment Bill, Mandaviya said, "There is one Mohali NIPER which was given national institute qualification. After this, six more NIPERs were set up. There was no clarification whether they are of national importance. To clarify this and give them national importance category is one of our amendments." The minister stressed on the need to strengthen research in the country.

"There should be patents in our country. If research takes place in our country, then patents will be in the country. When patents will be in the country, then we will be able to make high cost and patented drugs. Institutes like NIPER are playing an important role in such research," Mandaviya said.

While introducing the Bill, the minister said the NIPERs would be governed on the lines of the IITs.

Participating in the discussion, Ram Gopal Yadav of the SP sought clarity on whether the national importance status would lead to the end of OBC and SC/ST reservation at the NIPERs. He sought the inclusion of one member each from OBC and ST/SC in the board.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed a Bill that seeks to accord the status of institute of national importance to six more institutes of pharmaceutical education and research, and also set up an advisory council for them.

The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Upper House by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. It was passed by a

voice vote.