New Delhi: In a major development, the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), a unit of Ayush Ministry, and the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understating (MoU) in New Delhi for Inter-Ministerial cooperation to promote and achieve the ‘One Herb, One Standard’.
Director in-charge, PCIM&H, PK Prajapati and Secretary-cum-Scientific Director IPC Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi signed the MoU in the presence of Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush.
Kotecha, on the occasion, said, “The primary objective of this MoU is the development of cooperative efforts between PCIM&H and IPC to promote public health by facilitating the development of harmonized herbal drug standards. Since both PCIM&H and IPC are working with the common cause, it is logical and meaningful to harmonize the standards to achieve “One Herb – One Standard”.
The agreement will also facilitate collaboration for promoting exchange of information in the area of standardization of traditional medicine by sharing of scientific information and drug raw materials/extracts, seminars, workshops, training and brainstorming programs. The sole authority of publication of monographs categorized under the “one herb one standard” will lie with PCIM&H only.
The monograph(s), as per the MoU, developed by PCIM&H and IPC will be identified accordingly. The IPC’s contribution in the respective monographs shall be recognized at appropriate place. The technical content of the monographs will be jointly developed by PCIM&H and IPC. Hence, these monographs will have same legal sanctity as published in ASU&H pharmacopoeia and IP.
Ministry of Ayush believes that this harmonization of standards will fulfil the objective of “One Herb, One Standard and One Nation” and improve ease of doing business in India and also improve overall trade of Indian botanicals. It will prove a significant step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat as promoted by Prime Minister of India.
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Prajapati said, “This MoU will enable publication of monographs, which will be beneficial to everyone. A joint committee will be constituted for the selection of medicinal plants and their constituent marker/s for carrying out other related technical work.”
Raghuvanshi said that a new opportunity would unveil for all stakeholders like manufacturers, researchers and regulators in herbal medicine to get world class monographs and use them in their respective areas.
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Presently there are different standards as well as different analytical methods published in ASU&H Pharmacopoeias when compared with Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP). Ministry of Ayush desires to remove this ambiguity by through “One Herb – One Standard” initiative. Through this MoU each monograph will have Indian Standards along with the international quality requirements, so that all Indian quality standards become contemporary with the global standards for the same botanicals.
