|
The Union ministry of health and family welfare has notified recruitment rules for appointment of drug inspectors in regulator posts to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) as part of strengthening the organisation's operations to regulate and monitor the drugs and pharmaceutical industry and market in the country.
The notification has been issued for direct recruitment to a maximum of 419 posts, subject to variation dependent on workload, under the Group B classification, in Level -8 pay matrix, according to the Ministry.
The applicants for the direct recruitment should not exceed the age limit of thirty years, which could be relaxed upto five years for the government servants in accordance with the instructions or orders issued by the Central government.
The direct recruits should have the educational qualification of a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy or pharmaceutical sciences or medicine with specialisation in clinical pharmacology or microbiology from a recognised University or institute. The qualifications can be relaxed at the discretion of the Union Public Service Commission.
The recruits will have a probation of two years and with mandatory induction training of at least two weeks for successful completion of the probation.
However, the latest amendment of the recruitment rules does not stipulate some of the other qualifications mentioned in the recruitment rules for the drugs inspector post notified on February 19, 2010, for 169 posts in Group B classification.
The Rules in 2010 stipulated an additional 18 months experience either in the manufacture of at least one of the substances specified in Schedule C or in testing of at least one of the substances specified in the Schedule C in a laboratory approved for this purpose by the licensing authority, as qualifications along with the educational qualification.
Besides, three years' experience in the inspection of firms manufacturing any of the substances specified in the Schedule C during the tenure of their services as drugs inspector.
It may be noted that a couple of months back, the Ministry notified recruitment of 49 drug inspectors under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), as part of strengthening the organisation's operations to regulate and monitor the drugs and pharmaceutical industry and market in the country.
According to the seniority list of drugs inspectors in CDSCO as on November, 1, 2024, on which the final list has been published in February, 2025, while there are 419 drug inspector posts sanctioned under the CDSCO, the total number of filled posts are 189, while 230 remained vacant. While the total number of sanctioned posts for drug inspectors (medical device) under the Medical Devices Vertical in CDSCO is 85, almost 80% of the seats were lying vacant as on November, 2024.
As reported earlier, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers in its fifth report in December, 2024, observed that as on December, 2023, 60 per cent of the sanctioned strength of drug inspectors, 303 out of 504 were vacant despite the fact that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare way back in the year 2012 had recommended hiring people on short-term contractual bases till the vacancies are filled.
It urged the government to prioritise filling the vacancies without further delay, and raised concerns that the sanctioned strength of 504 posts are insufficient to meet the country's regulatory requirements for the medicines regime more specifically, considering the fact that the country has more than 750 districts.
"The Committee, therefore, recommend that the responsible authorities conduct a comprehensive assessment of the actual staffing needs with a holistic vision of increasing the number of sanctioned posts to ensure effective regulation and oversight owe the multifaceted issues grappling the spurious/NSQ drugs," said the Panel headed by Member of Parliament Kirti Jha Azad in the report presented in the Lok Sabha on December 16, 2024.
The government informed the Committee that the recruitment delays were caused by the Court on matters related to Recruitment Rules and following its orders from the Supreme Court of India in this regard, steps have been initiated to expedite the recruitment process.
"Filling up of vacancies is an ongoing process and the matter is being pursued," the Ministry informed the Panel.
|