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Planning Commission For Hiking Health Expenditure
To
2.5% of GDP By End Of Next Five Year Plan
With health getting less share in the original allocation for
the11th Five Year Plan period and the utilisation again falling way below the
target, the Planning Commission now wants to increase the allocation for health
during next Plan period.
The expenditure on health by Centre and the States should
increase from the current 1.3 per cent of the GDP to at least 2 per cent and
perhaps 2.5 per cent by the end of the 12th Plan period, according to the
initial notes prepared by the Planning Commission about the tones and quantum of
the next Plan.
There is a desperate shortage of medical personnel and there
is need for targeted approach to nursing colleges and other licensed increase
seats in medical colleges. The quality of National Rural Health Mission should
be improved according to the NRHM infrastructure. The role of public-private
partnership in secondary and tertiary healthcare must be expanded. Health
insurance cover should be expanded to all disadvantaged groups. Focus must be on
women and children and the ICDS needs to be revamped, according to the initial
assessment of the Panel.
The Panel has found that the current utilisation during the
ongoing period was also below the target. Out of the total allocation of
Rs.123,901 crore for the 11th Plan, only 61 per cent was used so far. At the
start of the current FYP the expenditure on health was below 1 per cent of the
GDP, but it has picked up to 1.1 per cent during 2009-10, as per the mid-term
appraisal. As per the latest estimates, it is at 1.3 per cent of the GDP, but
still much lower to the target of 2 per cent by the end of 2012, sources said.
The public discussions initiated by the Panel also attracted
suggestions from the public that the quality of public healthcare systems was
below the desired levels. Panel has prepared the concept note and taking inputs
from the public through different platforms including social networking sites
before finalising the directions of the next Plan.
(Ref:
http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=62955&sid=1)
Industry To Move Court Against
Introduction Of Bar Coding For Exports
With the union commerce ministry standing firm on its
decision to make bar coding mandatory for all pharma exports from July 1 this
year to check the export of spurious (fake) drugs from the country, the pharma
industry is bracing up itself to move court against the introduction of bar
coding in the country which, the industry said, is alarming as a section of the
exporters may lose the entire export business in one stroke of the ministry.
Sources in the industry said that just on the lines of FDC
and CoPP issues, some of the affected parties are preparing to move court. A
detailed petition to contest the government's decision in this regard is in the
drafting stage and the industry may move high court in two or three days time if
the ministry does not make any amendments in its decision which the industry
contests is a 'fake solution to a fake problem.
Contesting the government's plea that the bar coding is being
implemented in the country to check spurious (fake) drugs, the industry said
that the bar code technology is not fool proof. It is possible for counterfeits
to copy, create and use bar codes. If ATM cards can be duplicated, so can bar
codes. Spurious drugs can also have bar codes, the industry leaders said.
Industry leaders say that the implementation of bar code as
per GS1 global standards is cumbersome, time-consuming and costly. And what has
raised concerns for the SMEs is the provision seeking the introduction of the
bar code at three levels, instead of just the primary packages. Industry leaders
pointed out that for small companies, who will not have huge quantum of export,
the bar coding will be a huge burden as the specified machines for the same can
cost up to Rs.40 lakhs.
Industry leaders also point out that if the item number 3 of
the notification is implemented, it will have a far reaching effect in the
exports and there will be lot of delay in manufacturing the products and to
follow the procedures which is tedious and time consuming. The item number 3 of
the ministry's notification mentions that the exporter of pharmaceutical
products will build track and trace capability for their exported medicines
using barcode technology as per GS1 global standards. The same will need to be
done at primary, secondary and tertiary level packaging labels.
(Ref:
http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=63185&sid=1)
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