Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has emphasized on strengthening and making the drug control mechanism more effective to ensure the quality of medicines in the state. He directed that a new post of ‘District Drug Control Officer’ be created to further strengthen the system at the district level.
The Chief Minister said that the number of Drug Inspectors should be doubled compared to the current strength. To make the selection process more transparent, impartial, and quality-oriented, recruitment for these positions will now be conducted through written examinations instead of interviews.
On Friday, the Chief Minister was reviewing proposals related to the reorganization of the Drug Control Cadre and the creation of new posts during a high-level meeting of the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) Department. He said that proper deployment of Drug Inspectors should be ensured in all districts and that an effective supervision and time-bound inspection system should be implemented at the district level.
During the meeting, it was informed that currently, 109 Drug Inspectors are working in the department, which is inadequate as per the standards of the Government of India. On this, the Chief Minister said that aligning the state’s drug inspection system with national standards is extremely important from the public health perspective.
The meeting also discussed the reorganization of higher posts within the Drug Control Cadre. The Chief Minister approved the proposal to increase the number of Deputy Commissioner (Drugs) posts and to amend the qualifying service requirements for promotion to the post of Joint Commissioner (Drugs).
He further directed that clear qualifications and standards be defined for the post of Drug Controller. A fixed tenure should be determined for this position to ensure leadership and accountability at the top level of the system.
