Kerala - Thrissur   

Rs.5 lakhs for Ayurvedic firms going in for GMP certification

Staff Reporter

Union Minister says this will ensure supply of quality medicines

GIVING MORE HOPE: Union Minister of State for Health Panabaka Lakshmi inaugurating a State convention of the Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers' Organisation of India in Thrissur on Sunday.

THRISSUR: Union Minister of State for Health Panabaka Lakshmi has said that the Centre is sanctioning Rs. 5 lakhs each to Ayurvedic firms to help them obtain good manufacturing practices (GMP) certification. Inaugurating a State convention of the Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers' Organisation of India (AMMOI) here on Sunday, the Minister said the Department of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy was administering the sanction of money.

Emphasising that the Union Government was committed to implementing good manufacturing practices for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani drugs in the country, she said this would "ensure that quality medicines reach the market and the consumers feel confident of their safety and efficacy.''

She said 800 firms had, so far, obtained the certification in the country. Kerala was leading with nearly 40 per cent of the firms in the State obtaining it.

The Minister warned of stern action against drug manufacturers who violated legal provisions and failed to bring out quality products. The Centre had directed the State-level licensing authorities to revoke licences, if necessary.

R&D of remedies

The Minister said it might be true that many aspects of alternative systems of medicine could not be tested through existing analytical methods. But scientific methodologies and generation of objective evidence of safety and efficacy of time-tested remedies were needed for global acceptance.

Pointing out that a multidimensional approach was needed to validate medicinal plant products on international standards, Ms. Lakshmi said that the Centre was now implementing a coordinated research project named `Golden triangle partnership scheme,' with a collaborative involvement of the department, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

This would create new vistas of research and development of remedies and drug validation through a reverse pharmacological approach, she said.

Ayurveda tourism

Even while recognising that Ayurveda tourism had a tremendous potential in the country, "We should stick on to the principles of Ayurveda and try to give quality services." With the Kerala Government's decision to issue guidelines for running Ayurveda centres, the State could take a leading role in building up a credible Ayurveda tourism sector in the country, the Minister said.

Minister for Health K.K. Ramachandran, in his presidential address, said efforts to sully Ayurveda, citing the presence of heavy metals in some of its formulations, would destroy the traditional healthcare system of the country.

C.K. Chandrappan, MP; District Collector Premachandra Kurup; AMMOI president G. Gopalakrishnan Nair; general secretary D. Ramanathan; chief of Kerala Ayurvedic Pharmacy P.R. Krishna Kumar; Vaidyamadham Cheriya Narayanan Namboodiri; Ashtavaidyan E.T. Narayanan Moos; Vaidyan V.S. Parameswaran Nair, V.P. Siddhan and N.P.P. Namboodiri spoke.

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