24th Meeting of PM-STIAC

Context: The 24th PM-STIAC meeting focused on medical and health industries in India and was organised by the Principal Scientific Advisor of the Government of India.

About 24th Meeting of PM-STIAC:

• On February 6, 2024, Professor Ajay Kumar Sood, the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, held the 24th meeting of the Prime Minister Science, Technology & Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
• The meeting convened PM-STIAC members, government officials, and medical experts to discuss important aspects of the health products ecosystem.
• This included examining the current regulatory processes for medical products, identifying gaps and challenges faced by stakeholders, and exploring potential opportunities in the regulatory field. The objective was to develop recommendations for a strong and effective regulatory system
• The aim of the discussion was to provide recommendations for a strong regulatory system in the medical and health industry.
• The themes discussed included
  • changes to the drug approval process to promote innovation
  • aligning regulatory systems with global practices
  • simplifying vaccine regulation in India
  • establishing a streamlined approval process for vaccines
  • building an ecosystem for medical devices
  • regulating animal health products
  • harnessing the potential of India in emerging therapies such as Cell and Gene Therapy.

Prime Minister Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC):

• The PM-STIAC was created in August 2018 to play the role of an important body that assesses science and technology issues, identifies challenges, provides solutions for these problems arising in this area, plans about future activities as well as giving recommendations on how best such developments can be addressed by the Prime Minister.
• It is headed by the Principal Advisor to Government of India.

Purpose of PM-STIAC:

The main tasks include

• combining science and technology
• preparing for the future
• creating and coordinating missions related to science and technology
• supporting entrepreneurial efforts in the field of technology
• promoting innovation and technology development
• establishing innovation hubs
• strengthening connections between the public and private sectors.

Initiatives developed under PM-STIAG: 

• The One Health mission strives to synchronise humans, animals and environmental health in an efficient way that prevents the outbreak of pandemics, spanning important diseases.
• The National Quantum Mission aims to create quantum technologies for use in communication, computing and sensing.
• Waste to Wealth wants that waste may be converted into controlled commodities by using recycling and resource recovery technologies.
• Deep Ocean Exploration seeks to explore and identify sustainable technologies that will enable utilisation of the deep ocean.

Central Drugs Standard Organisation (CDSCO):

• The CDSCO functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, whereby their chief is referred to as Drugs Controller General of India.
• Its primary roles include the approval of new drugs, clinical trials, adverse drug reactions monitoring among others; licences and approvals for manufacturing and importation; producing guidelines on standards required during manufacture to manufacturers.

Source: PIB

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