Enhance annual intake capacity of NIPERs significantly: Parliamentary panel

NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel on Wednesday recommended that the government should significantly enhance the annual intake capacity of the National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERS) to train more people.

A report by the Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers said, "Given the huge population of country and India is the pharmacy of the world, the committee is of the view that the combined annual intake capacity of the NIPERs should be enhanced significantly, so as to train more and more people in the important field of pharmaceutical education and research."

The panel in its 23rd Report on The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021, also noted that in spite of all the NIPERs being institutions of national importance there is a huge disparity among them in terms of infrastructure, courses offered, campus area and the academic and research output.

It recommended that there should be a standard for all the parameters which every NIPER should strive to meet, giving justification to its tag of an institution of national importance.

Regarding the construction of campuses for four NIPERs at Hajipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Raebareli, the panel recommended that the Department of Pharmaceuticals should pursue the matter vigorously at the highest level with the Ministry of Finance for early Economic Finance Committee (EFC) approval along with the appropriate financial outlay for the construction of own campuses for all these NIPERs in a time-bound manner.

The committee also noted that the proposal to set up five more NIPERs at Madurai, Jhalawar, Nagpur, New Raipur and Bengaluru has remained on paper since 2012.

"The committee strongly recommends that the Department of Pharmaceuticals should chalk out concrete proposals for the timely setting up of these NIPERs and place the same before the Ministry of Finance for the allocation of necessary budgetary allocation for the same," the report said.

The panel also said that it has recommended that the Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers (Department of Pharmaceuticals) should ensure at least one public person or a social worker from the Scheduled Caste /Scheduled Tribe should be included in the Board of Governors of NIPERs and suitable provision may be made in the Bill for the purpose.

The committee also recommended that the programmes on natural products and traditional medicine be further strengthened in the NIPERs in coordination with the Ministry of AYUSH.

The panel said that the specialisation programme on natural products is conducted by NIPERs at Mohali, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Kolkata and the specialisation programme on traditional medicine is conducted by Mohali NIPER only.