National
8th International Conference on Pharma and Medical Device Sector 2023
⇒ The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the 8th edition of the International Conference on ‘India Pharma & India Medical Device 2023’ on 26 May 2023.
Organized by:
The conference was organized by the Department of Pharmaceuticals in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) from May 26 – 27, 2022 in New Delhi.
The conference was organized for two days to promote India as a manufacturing hub of quality medical products in the pharmaceutical and Medical Device Sector.
The annual flagship conference was conducted over two days on the following themes:
- 26th May 2023- dedicated for India Medical Device sector on the theme “Sustainable MedTech 5.0: Scaling and Innovating Indian MedTech”
- 27th May 2023- dedicated for the Pharmaceutical sector on the theme “Indian pharma industry: Delivering Value through Innovation”.
Launch of the Policy:
» As part of the conference, Dr Mandaviya launched the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023, as well as the Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices.
» Additionally, the Union Minister also launched a scheme titled ‘Assistance for Medical Devices clusters for Common Facilities (AMD-CF)’.
- This scheme aims to establish and strengthen common infrastructure facilities in the medical devices clusters and fortify testing facilities for medical devices.
Participation:
Over 100 CEOs from the pharmaceutical and medical device industries participated in a number of thematic sessions over the course of two days, bringing participation to the event from across the globe. The two-day conference was attended by over 700 participants from the pharma and medical device sectors.
Keynote addresses and panel discussions were held on several topics-
Practical Commercialization Strategies for MedTech: Pilot Scale to Production Scale, Propelling the Innovation and R&D Growth: Efficient Quality Management in MedTech, Capacity & Skill Building in MedTech: Industry-Academia Integration, Pharmaceutical Industry as a pillar of India’s growth and quality as the key foundation growth driver, Digital Transformation Shaping the Pharmaceutical Industry Value Chain, and Leapfrogging into the future of Indian pharma: Capitalizing on global biosimilar opportunity.
International
Prime Minister honoured with the highest civilian award of Papua New Guinea
⇒ Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi arrived at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on 21 May 2023.
- This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Papua New Guinea. The visit underscores the close friendship of India with the Pacific Island countries.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi called on Sir Bob Dadae, Governor-General of Papua New Guinea (PNG), on 22 May at Government House in Port Moresby, on the sidelines of the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC).
- Both leaders had a good exchange of views including on the significance of the bilateral ties and development partnership between the two countries, which they agreed to further strengthen.
Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu:
In a special ceremony at the Government House, H.E. Sir Bob Dadae, Governor-General of Papua New Guinea (PNG) conferred Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with the Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL).
- This is the highest civilian award of PNG and recipients of the award are titled “Chief”.
44th ISO COPOLCO Plenary 2023
⇒ Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal inaugurated the 44th ISO COPOLCO Plenary on 24 May 2023 in New Delhi.
Organized by:
India hosted the 44th edition of the coveted annual ISO COPOLCO Plenary from 23-26 May 2023 in New Delhi.
The mega event was organized by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the national standards body of India.
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Theme:
This year’s Plenary was organised with a people-centric approach and themes such as ‘Challenges and Good Practices for Consumer Engagement’, ‘Empowering Consumers for a Sustainable Future’ and ‘Consumer Protection and Legal Frameworks’.
Participation:
The four-day event witnessed the distinguished presence of the leaders from Government and business sectors and international delegation of eminent global stakeholders.
On the concluding day of the Plenary, ISO Officials stated that-
- The 44th COPOLCO Plenary has successfully achieved its objectives of empowering consumers for a sustainable future, through in-depth discussions and exchange of national and international experiences of the challenges that consumers face in making sustainable choices and promoting the development of the circular economy.
- ISO has renewed its commitment to incorporate the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into its standards programme and giving a voice to vulnerable stakeholders most affected by climate change in its standards and policy work.
About ISO COPOLCO:
ISO COPOLCO, or the Committee on Consumer Policy, is a committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) responsible for promoting consumer interests in the standardization process and for ensuring that standards are developed with the needs of consumers in mind.
Key Points:
- The International Standards Organisation (ISO), an international body with 168 countries as members, develops standards for the world impacting a diverse range of business and social sectors.
- Through their consumer committee on standards development (COPOLCO), ISO involves the wider public in the process of standardization.
- Therefore, ISO COPOLCO is reckoned as the major international event that brings together representatives from ISO member countries to discuss and develop strategies for accelerating the development of standards for the world.
India’s Participation:
- India has since long been actively involved in matters of international standardization and was one of the founding members of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
- In its capacity as the National Standards Body of India, BIS is actively involved in matters of international and regional standardization. BIS is a member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and through the Indian National Committee (INC) is a member of the International Electro technical Commission (IEC).
- BIS is also a member of regional standards bodies like the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC), and the South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) and is under the framework of IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa).
Important Day
World Hypertension Day 2023
⇒ World Hypertension Day is observed every year on 17 May to raise awareness about hypertension as a public health issue.
World Hypertension Day is a day dedicated to highlighting the importance of monitoring blood pressure and bringing global awareness to the 1 billion people living with high blood pressure worldwide.
- High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is defined as a systolic blood pressure consistently above 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure consistently above 90 mm Hg. Hypertension is the risk factor for heart disease, stroke, renal complications, and premature death.
Theme:
The theme of World Hypertension Day 2023 is ‘Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer’.
- The theme of the day provides an opportunity for health managers to advocate for increased availability and use of digital blood pressure measurement devices across healthcare facilities to scale up screening and monitoring.
History:
- World Hypertension League is an umbrella of organisations from 85 countries dealing with hypertension societies and leagues.
- World Hypertension League introduced World Hypertension Day on May 14, in the year 2005. World Hypertension Day was first observed on May 14, 2005.
- From 2006, World Hypertension Day has been observed on May 17.
» The Union Health Ministry launched an ambitious “75/25” initiative of screening and putting 75 million people with hypertension and diabetes on Standard Care by 2025, to mark the World Hypertension Day.
- This was announced at the G20 co-branded event “Accelerating the Prevention and Management of Hypertension and Diabetes”, organized by Union Health Ministry and WHO by Dr. V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog.