State druggists upset over lack of TN experts in Union govt’s pharma panel

CHENNAI: The Union Government of India recently formed an expert committee to review the Pharmacy Act 1948 and restructuring of the Pharmacy Council of India and Pharmacy Education. However, the committee did not have any experts from Tamil Nadu.

The State pharmacists were not happy with lack of representation, as they said that TN had the highest pharmacy graduates and diploma holders in this field and the State government should intervene in this case.

The committee will be submitting its recommendations in a month. It has 16 experts from across the country and the top agenda is to review pharmacy education along with other required recommendations for the restructuring of the Pharmacy Council of India, which regulates pharmacies and issues concerning pharmacists.

However, none of the experts in the committee are from Tamil Nadu. This lack of representation has made the druggists and chemists association upset.

“We have the highest number of graduates in pharmacy education. The regulations or the structure of the education needs to be formed keeping in mind the future of people in our State also. We have requested the Chief Minister MK Stalin to intervene in this matter and discuss with the Union Government to include representatives from the State,” said S Ramachandran, former secretary of TN Government Druggists and Chemists Association.