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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the central and state governments have implemented several measures to reduce the spread of the disease and provide relief for those affected by the it. In this blog, we look at some of the key measures taken by the Government of Chhattisgarh with regard to public health, ensuring supply of essential commodities and providing relief to affected persons.
COVID-19 cases in the State
As of April 21, 2020, Chhattisgarh has 36 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of these, 11 are active cases, and 25 patients have been cured or discharged. This is illustrated below in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Day wise COVID-19 Cases in Chhattisgarh
Sources: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; PRS.
Key measures taken by the State Government
On March 13, 2020, the Department of Health and Family Welfare notified the Chhattisgarh Epidemic Disease, COVID-19 Regulations, 2020. Key provisions of the regulations include:
Movement restrictions: Following these regulations, the government announced several additional measures to restrict movement of people to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Essential Goods and Services: Following the lockdown, the government notified certain additional essential goods and services that will remain unaffected by the lockdown. These are noted below:
Relief measures: During the lockdown, the state government announced several measures to provide relief to the affected individuals. Key measures include:
Health Measures: Over the last few weeks, the government issued several guidelines and orders on containment of the virus, patient handling and protection of healthcare workers. Some of these are noted below:
For more information on the spread of COVID-19 and the central and state government response to the pandemic, please see here.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare tabled a Report in Parliament on May 8, 2012, on the functioning of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). CDSCO is the agency mandated with the regulation of drugs and cosmetics in India. The Report covers various aspects of drug regulation including organizational structure and strength of CDSCO, approval of new drugs, and banning of drugs, among others. Following the Report, the Minister of Health and Family Welfare has constituted a Committee to look into the procedure for drug regulation. The Committee is expected to make its submissions within a period of two months. This post focuses on irregularities in the approval of new drugs by CDSCO. It discusses the regulations relating to drug approval and the Standing Committee's observations on the working of CDSCO. Approval of new drugs Drugs are regulated by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, 1945 [Rules]. The CDSCO, under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is the authority that approves new drugs for manufacture and import. State Drug Authorities are the licensing authorities for marketing drugs. New Drugs are defined as:
The Rules require an applicant for a new drug to conduct clinical trials in India to determine the drug’s safety and efficacy. These trials are necessary for both domestically manufactured and imported drugs. However, the authority can exempt a drug from the requirement of local and clinical trials in the public interest based on data available in other countries. Observations and recommendations of the Committee The Committee found that a total of 31 new drugs were approved between January 2008 and October 2010 without conducting clinical trials on Indian patients. The Report mentioned that drug manufacturers, CDSCO officials and medical experts colluded to approve drugs in violation of laws. Following are some of the Report’s findings: