 "Inter-ministerial MoU inked for promotion of 'One Herb, One Standard'")
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked between the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy (Ministry of Ayush) and the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (Ministry of Health) here on Tuesday for inter-ministerial cooperation for the promotion and facilitation of "One Herb, One Standard".
P K Prajapati, Director (in-charge) of the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), and Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), signed the MoU in the presence of Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, according to a statement issued by the ministry.
On the occasion, Kotecha said, "The primary objective of this MoU is the development of cooperative efforts between the PCIM&H and the IPC to promote public health by facilitating the development of harmonised herbal drug standards. Since both the PCIM&H and the IPC are working with the common cause, it is logical and meaningful to harmonise the standards to achieve 'One Herb, One Standard'."
The MoU will further facilitate collaboration for promoting exchange of information in the area of standardisation of traditional medicine by sharing scientific information and drug raw materials or extracts, seminars, workshops, training and brainstorming programmes.
The sole authority for the publication of monographs categorised under "One Herb, One Standard" will lie with the PCIM&H only, the statement said.
According to the MoU, the monographs developed by the PCIM&H and the IPC will be identified accordingly and the IPC's contribution in the respective monographs shall be recognised at an appropriate place.
The technical content of the monographs will be jointly developed by the PCIM&H and the IPC. Hence, these monographs will have the same legal sanctity as published in ASU&H pharmacopoeia and IP, the statement said.
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"Ministry of Ayush believes that this harmonisation 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 the overall trade of Indian botanicals. It will prove a significant step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat as promoted by the prime minister," it added.
"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 markers for carrying out other related technical work," Prajapati said.
Raghuvanshi said the MoU is going to provide an opportunity to all the stakeholders, including manufacturers, researchers and regulators in herbal medicine, to get world-class monographs to be used in their respective areas.
"It is an opportunity for the IPC to do deeper research in the area of herbal medicine, especially in the quality domain, and contribute towards public health," he added.
Presently, there are different standards as well as analytical methods published in ASU&H Pharmacopoeias when compared with Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).
The Ministry of Ayush desires to remove this ambiguity through the "One Herb, One Standard" initiative, according to the statement.
Through the 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.
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