image credit- pib
Union Health Secretary, Punya Salila Srivastava virtually launched the State Health Regulatory Excellence Index (SHRESTH), a first-of-its-kind national initiative to benchmark and strengthen state drug regulatory systems through a transparent, data-driven framework in the presence of Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drug Controller General of India.
The initiative, proposed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) aims to drive improvements in the performance of state drug regulatory authorities across India, ensuring drug safety and quality standards are consistently met.
The SHRESTH Index will enable targeted improvements in human resources, infrastructure, and digitisation across states, ensuring drug safety is guaranteed for every Indian, regardless of geography. It will also promote cross-learning of best practices and foster collaborative spirit.
The Index, developed after detailed deliberations with the states, will regularly assess the states on several parameters such as human resources, strength of lab testing capacities, extent of digitisation of various approvals and licenses, rigour of inspection and surveillance activities, and responsiveness towards grievances received from citizens.
CDSCO will facilitate sharing of success stories from top-performing states to drive collaboration and transfer of learnings.
