Health Minister Harsh Vardhan says Department of Expenditure has approved the creation of posts to inspect, audit and test the efficacy of medical devices.
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government is set to hire more than 700 inspectors and technicians with the sole aim to regulate the medical devices sector in India.
The move comes just a month after the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare empowered drug regulator Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to handle medical devices as well.
Now, the ministry has gained in-principle approval from the finance ministry’s Department of Expenditure for the creation of posts across levels.
The government is acting on a report submitted in April by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) — the country’s highest statutory decision-making body on technical matters related to medicines and medical devices — which advised hiring more inspectors.
“In order to strengthen the medical devices vertical of CDSCO and have adequate capacity for regulating all the medical devices, which are being brought under regulation, ministry had submitted a proposal to the Department of Expenditure to create 754 posts at various levels,” Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan told ThePrint.
“The department has agreed, in-principle, to the creation of posts in a phased manner. The matter has been taken up for obtaining its formal approval.”
