New Delhi: The appointments committee of the Union cabinet has approved of a proposal to appoint Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi as Drug Controller General of India. He will now head the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation or CDSCO.
Raghuvanshi is identified in the official notification as having been the secretary-cum-scientific director of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, which is a government body mandated with task of setting standards for drugs in the country.
Its remit is distinct to the CDSCO’s which Raghuvanshi will now head as DCGI. The CDSCO regulates drug manufacturing, their sale and distribution across the country.
The last full time DCGI was Dr V. Somani.
Raghuvanshi will be in the level 14 of the pay matrix. His appointment is on a short term contract basis, with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post till he attains the age of superannuation on February 28, 2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
This appointment comes at a time when India-made cough syrups and eye drops are at the centre of deep controversy following adverse effects in various foreign countries, some leading to death.