Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H)

The Commission was initially established as Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine (PCIM) in 2010 and was registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860 later in the same year.

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Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine in News

Recently, the Government of India has established Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), as a subordinate office under Ministry of Ayush.

Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H)

About: The Commission was initially established as Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine (PCIM) in 2010 and was registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860 later in the same year.
Parent Ministry: Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) functions as a sub-ordinate office under Ministry of AYUSH.
Formation of PCIM&H: It is created by merging Pharmacopoeia Commission of Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) and the two central laboratories namely-
- Pharmacopoeia Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM), Ghaziabad and
- Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (HPL)
Key Functions:
- The Commission is engaged in development of Pharmacopoial Standards for Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathic drugs.
- PCIM&H is also acting as Central Drug Testing cum Appellate Laboratory for Indian systems of Medicine & Homoeopathy.

Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine- Key Objectives

Quality standards
- To develop Pharmacopoeias for drugs/formulations of ‘Indian Medicine’ and ‘Homoeopathy’
- To develop Formularies of ‘Indian Medicine’
- To revise/update/amend the published Pharmacopoeias and Formularies as may be deemed necessary
- To publish compendia supplementary to Pharmacopoeias/Formularies of ‘Indian Medicine’ and ‘Homoeopathy’ and other related scientific/regulatory information pertaining to functional area of PCIM&H
Apex Laboratory
- To act as Central Drug Testing cum Appellate Laboratory for ‘Indian Medicine’ and ‘Homoeopathy’
- To impart Capacity Building Training to Drug Regulatory Authorities and personnel engaged in Quality Control pertaining to ‘Indian Medicine’ and ‘Homoeopathy’
- To nurture and promote awareness on Quality assurance of drugs/formulations of ‘Indian Medicine’ and ‘Homoeopathy’ and drug research
Repositories of authentic reference materials
- To maintain an authentic Reference Raw Materials (RRM) Repository of raw materials used in ‘Indian Medicine’ and ‘Homoeopathy’
- To maintain an authentic Reference Chemical Markers (RCM) Repository of chemical moieties with established therapeutic significance for drugs/formulations of ‘Indian Medicine’ and ‘Homoeopathy’
Miscellaneous
- To exercise any activity so as to propagate/promote/improvise implementation/ enforcement of provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules thereunder as well as other laws/schemes/programmes of ‘Government’, relevant to functional area of PCIM&H.

National Ayush Mission (NAM)- Key Points

About: National AYUSH Mission (NAM) is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of AYUSH, launched in 2014.
- National AYUSH Mission is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Union Government.
Implementation: National AYUSH Mission (NAM) launched during 12th Plan for implementing through States/UTs.
Mandate: NAM aims to promote AYUSH medical systems through-
- Cost effective AYUSH services,
- Strengthening of educational systems,
- Facilitate the enforcement of quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani & Homoeopathy (ASU &H) drugs and
- Sustainable availability of ASU & H raw materials.