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September, 2006 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India |
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Pharma Labels In Hindi
Cos get 6-mth breather
The ministry of chemicals and fertilisers has given the pharmaceutical industry more time to implement labelling changes in products.
In a notification dated June 13, the ministry has said it has postponed the deadline for incorporating details on labels in Hindi by six months. “On request from various pharmaceutical companies, it was decided that this decision would be implemented from October 2, ’06 instead of April 1, ’06,” the notification stated.
Earlier this year, the ministry had directed the pharmaceutical industry to print the brand name, price, date of manufacturing and expiry date in English and Hindi on every product pack “for the benefit of the common man”.
The government has also asked the industry to report progress on the implementation of these changes on July 3 and August 31. Samples of the new labels have to be submitted to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority on September 20.
While the industry resisted the move initially, some companies did start printing labels in both languages. Among the companies that are working on new labels for their products are US Vitamins, a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company and Sun Pharma, a leading domestic player. US Vitamins has started printing bi-lingual labels for all its products, whereas Sun Pharma has initiated the process and is likely to complete the labelling changes in the near future.
Some pharma companies, however, are resisting the change. An industry official was quoted saying in a leading finacial daily that though the practice was common in some countries, it would not make sense in a country like India because India is a multi-lingual country. “How is this move to incorporate information in Hindi justified in the southern states,” the official said.
Another industry official said incorporating the changes would only mean that the legibility of existing information on the labels will be compromised. “It will not suit anybody's purpose, neither those who can read English nor those that can only read Hindi,” the official said.
Some products that sport brand names in Hindi and English are Metlinctus, Practin, Piritone, Tonoferon, Phensedyl and Vent PD.
Date: 06-Jul-2006
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