August 20
INDIA:
Govt to introduce afresh bill on spurious drugs manufacturers
Following the lapse of the bill calling for enhanced penalty, including
death sentence for offenders involved in the sale or manufacture of
spurious drugs, due to dissolution of Parliament, the Centre has initiated
steps to introduce the said bill again.
Minister of state for Health and Family Welfare Panabaka Lakshmi informed
the Rajya Sabha that steps had been taken to introduce afresh a
legislation to amend the penal provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act,
1940 providing for stricter penalties to offenders, including capital
punishment.
A bill to this effect, based on the recommendations of the R A Mashelkar
Committee was introduced in Parliament in December last year. It, however,
lapsed following the dissolution of Lok Sabha, she said in a written
reply.
Other salient amendments proposed in the Bill are making offences
pertaining to spurious or adulterated drugs non-bailable and cognisable,
setting up of special courts to try offences of spurious and adulterated
drugs and penalties for subsequent offences to be enhanced up to 10 years
with a minimum fine of Rs one lakh.
Tuberculosis: It is estimated that 4.17 patients die of TB in India every
year and 40 % of the population is infected by TB bacillus, the Rajya
Sabha was informed today.
AS many as 1.1 million patients had registered for treatment against the
dreaded disease across the country in 2003-2004, Lakshmi said in a written
reply adding that Revised National TB control programme had been rated by
WHO as one of the fastest expanding Public Health programmes and also for
maintaining high levels of treatment success.
(source: Press Trust of India)
