What else is illegal to sell online ?

Delhi High Court has held that online sale of drugs is illegal  as it’s not in accordance with the Act.

An expert committee appointed by the Drugs Consultative Committee under the Government of India, has already concluded that online sales of medicine is in contravention of the provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

[ source : https://inc42.com/buzz/epharmacy-delhi-high-court-bans-online-sales-of-medicine/  ]

But , two years back , Hindustan Times ( 21 Dec 2016 ) carried following report :

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The drug committee, in its report submitted to the health ministry, has said medicines could be sold online, but with changes in several laws .

Currently, medicine sales are banned online.

The report advises the government to amend several acts, including the IT Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Narcotics Act.

“The report does not deny the possibility of medicine sale online. It just says several laws need to be changed.

Also, we need a flawless technical system to regulate sales and route all e-pharmacies through a common platform,” GN Singh, Drug Controller General of India, told HT.

The number of weekly online shoppers have increased by 33% since last year, and the number of daily online shoppers have become fourfold from 2013 to 2015.

The government is working on a plan to support e-pharmacies with a strong technology network.

It is likely to test the model by allowing the sale of limited prescription drugs in the first phase.

Singh said most of the proposals that the state drug controllers submitted to the government were in favour of the online sale of drugs.

However, patient security still remains a concern.

The government is also planning to tweak the Drugs and Cosmetics Act as there is no clause on the online sale of medicines.

“We need to amend several acts and they need parliamentary approvals. This process could take a year or so,” Singh said.

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Two years gone but no amendments to the Drug and Cosmetics Act  !

So , the High Court must go by a 78 year old law – ignoring ,

“  Online pharmacies are helping to lower health costs in India “

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My  Take :

There can be no doubt that DRUGS / MEDICINES concern the health of people

Hence , not only its’  “ selling “  but its “ manufacturing – distribution – prescribing etc “ , need to be carefully regulated

But then there are many other items which too , are affecting the well-being of people

These are :

·         Cigarettes / Tobacco products / e-cigarettes

·         Junk foods / Certain milk products

·         Sugary drinks

·         Alcoholic drinks

Do current laws prevent their “ Online “ sale as well ?

Time is not far when every “ product “ will sell online . Most “ services “ have already gone online

How long will it take our Law-makers to come up with an amendment to our Drug and Cosmetics Act (1940) to regulate any Indian to 3D printing of customized drugs at home  ?

Those who need convincing re this possibility, may want to read up :

Made-on-demand, complex and personalized 3D-printed drug products

 ( First 3D printed drug product was approved by FDA in August 2015. )

3D printing drugs: more precise, more personalised

(   One day the patient may even be able to print their repeat medications at home using a personal machine  )

Related Readings :

3 D - Digital Delivery of Drugs              [  11  Oct   2015  ]

Health Care through Mobile ?               [  24  Nov  2016  ] 

Online Sale of Medicines ?                    [  24  Nov  2016  ]

 

Personal Health History : NHS               [  11  Aug  2018  ]

 

Ayushman Bharat : Think Big                [  23  Sept  2018  ]

 

Modicare : A Game Changer                  [  01  Oct  2018   ]

 

 

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14  Dec  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Leveraging our Engineering Talent

I have no quarrel with our ( about to be released ) “ Industry Policy “ which plans to raise the share of “ Manufacturing Sector “ in our GDP from the current 16 % to 25 % by 2022 ( - when GDP is targeted to reach $ 5 Trillion )

No doubt our Policy Makers must have figured out the  CAPITAL INVESTMENT  that will be needed to reach this target ( Land – Buildings – Machinery – Inventory  etc )

It would be interesting to know what “ Incremental Capital Output Ratio “did they assume for the “ Manufacturing Sector “

 

They might have , even some ideas on the possible SOURCES for these funds ( I hope , other than raising taxes ! )

But , if “ Manufacturing Sector “ and “ Service Sector “ were two horses in the GDP race , I would bet on the “ Service Sector “, especially from the following view-points :

·         “ Capital Investment per Job created “ would be much lower ( may be 10 % of  Mfg. Sector ? )

·         Jobs created would be much higher  ( may be 5 times of  Mfg sector ? )

·         Time ( to create those jobs ) would be much shorter ( months instead of years )

·         Export of “ Services “ are much easier than export of “ Goods “

·         Quality of our “ Services “ are comparable – or even better – than from other countries

·         We will , soon , have the desired quality / quantity of Internet connectivity , all over India

·         We are turning out thousands of Graduates each year though some need “ Skilling “

·         Salaries of our Engineers are 20 - 25 % of similar hires in USA – EU – Japan – UK etc

HERE IS SOME EVIDENCE :

[ source :   Despite Trump, US MNCs flock to India for engineering talent   ]

Highlights :

Years    /  No of  MNCs   /  Centres  /  Employees  /  Total Spend ( $ Billion )

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2016    /  943   /   1208   /   343,000   /   13

2017   /  976   /    1257   /   396,000   /   15

2018   /  1005   /  1295  /    435,000   /   17

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The numbers do not include MNCs’ IT and BPM ( business process management )

Including these , Zinnov had estimated that there were 1,571 centres and 815,000 employees in 2016

Types of Industries putting up Centres ( mentioned in this article ) :

·         IT – Automation – Banks – Professional Services – Telecom – Media – Entertainment

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Context :

Brain Inc 2.0     [  21  Aug  2017  ]     

 

 Where I wrote :

 

·           5 lakh ( 500,000 ) engineers work in “ Tech R&D firms “ in India

o    $ 22 Billion was the worth of their work in 2015-16

§  This will nearly DOUBLE to $ 40 Billion in 2020

 

Now consider this :

·         By employing 5 lakh engineers , India’s “ Tech R&D Firms “ earned $ 22 billion . That

          works to a billing of $ 44,000 per man-year of R&D ( Export of Services )

·         I presume that the “ Manpower Cost “ constitute approx. 50 % of Billing Rate ( rest

          being OVERHEADS and MARGIN )

·         Hence , Indian R&D firms must be paying an average of $ 22,000 per year to its

          employees ( approx. Rs 1.2 lakh per month )

·         As against this , both , Indian as well as American firms pay ( on an average ) ,

          $ 88,000 per year to H1 B visa holders

         

·         With this kind of “ Cost Advantage “ , is there a possibility to do better than the

          projected earnings of $ 40 billion in 2020 ?

It is high time our Policy Makers launch a new initiative ( of Export of Intellectual  Property ) , called :

INDIA  :  the  BRAIN  FACTORY  of  THE  WORLD  

During an Interview with Business Line ( 16 April 2016 ) , the then CEO of Infosys , Vishal Sikka , said :

“ We have to re-imagine the notion of services “

In support of my belief  in the potential re-imagination of this “ Service Sector “ , allow me to quote Peter Diamandis   {  https://www.diamandis.com/blog/topic/web-3-0  ]  :

·         The Spatial Web is also giving way to “virtual company headquarters” and completely virtualized companies, where employees can work from home or any place on the planet

·         Delocalize with VR, and you can now hire anyone with Internet access ( right next door or on the other side of the planet )

·         Web 3.0 is changing the way we work, where we work and who we work with.

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13  Dec  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Not curious : definitely injurious !

Former Union Secretary , Shri Anil Swarup wrote an article in DNA ( 10 Dec ) , titled :

“ The curious case of H C Gupta

In the article , Shri Swarup writes :

 

·         The crisis actually is an outcome of this provision that does not exist in law anymore. 

The provision stipulates that if a private party gets a benefit that is not in public interest, a civil servant could be held liable even if there was no evidence of quid pro quo or mala fide. 

·         Ironically, in some of the judgments, it has been clearly brought out that the charge of personal benefit has not been levelled against Harish Gupta; neither is there any evidence available to this effect.

·         Certain sets of “facts” and documents came before a committee that was chaired by Gupta.

     Some of the documents provided incorrect information. These errors were not

     apparent on the face of the record. The committee, accordingly, made

     recommendations.

     These recommendations were accepted at an “appropriate level”. This “appropriate

     level”, the decision-making authority, was privy to the same set of information that

     the committee headed by Gupta had

·         Was it practically possible to verify all the facts that came before the committee ? Won’t the administration come to a grinding halt if all Committees of the government start verifying the facts that come before them?

·         However, like any other segment of the society, civil service too has its share of those that prefer not to stick their necks out. Such developments will only induce many more of them to “ play safe ”.

·         The decision will impact decision- making. Officers will be averse to expressing their views on the files.

    This is already in evidence in a number of departments of the government.

    The consequences could be grievous.

    Governance is suffering and could become worse on account of the sense of insecurity

    that such developments convey.

    It is hoped the amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act will take care of

    recurrence of such developments.

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In my blog / email, [  Policy Paralysis : Can be Avoided  /  26  Aug  2016  ], I suggested  :

 

To encourage Officers and Ministers to take FAST decisions , Shri Narendra Modi must insist that they carefully " Record " on the files :

*  What are the " Options / Alternatives " available ( with advantage / disadvantage , of each )

* What info / data he wished was available for a better decision

* What different " views / opinions " were presented to him for consideration

* What " Data / Views " he would have obtained if he had more time

* Who all , the decision might offend

* What is the likely " Cost " of postponing that decision,

And finally a Declaration :

* " This decision is not likely to benefit any of my near relatives / friends , directly or immediately "

After all of this , if the decision appears to be " Wrong " in hindsight , it must be " forgiven " and treated as an honest error

To err is human  !

Speaking at the TRANSFORMING  INDIA lecture ( 26 Aug 2016 ) , Shri Modi said :

"  We cannot march through 21st century with 19th century administrative systems . It would involve transformation of governance and mindsets as well as transformative ideas

Further , it would require rapid transformation and not gradual evolution "

I am afraid , despite all of this motivation / exhortation , no officer would want to stick his neck out for fear of it getting chopped off !

Even a trapeze artist in a circus , needs a Safety Net before he can be motivated to jump !

My suggestion is that SAFETY  NET !

True , Sati Sita had to prove her innocence through fire !

But , in 2016 , no officer would want to go through the public humiliation of a media trial , till the courts prove him innocent !

For him , " No decision " cannot be faulted !

 

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12  Dec  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs