TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS AND POLICY UPDATES

Dear Reader, we are happy to share the most interesting legal and policy updates concerning health industry that we read today. We hope you enjoy reading it.

1. The Union Health Ministry of India has been allocated a budget of Rs 90,958.63 crore for the financial year 2024-2025 in the Parliament’s interim Union Budget 2024 session. This budget is 12.96% higher than the budget that was allocated for the financial year 2023-24.
Source: bit.ly/3YnHCWu

2. The Union Health Ministry of India has announced a revision in the basic customs duties (BCD) with an aim to align with domestic capacity expansion for medical equipment such as X-ray tubes, flat panel detectors, including scintillators that will be used in the manufacture of medical X-ray machines for medical, surgical, dental, or veterinary use. The custom duty will be reduced from 15% to 5% until 31st May 2025.
Source: bit.ly/4fgx6GI

3. India’s Environment Ministry has issued a draft guidelines relating to the Uniform Consent Fee and the Grant, Refusal, or Cancellation of Consent to Establish & Consent to Operate. These guidelines aim to streamline the consent mechanism under the provisions of the Water Act and Air Act, enhance ease of doing business, minimize the compliance burden on industries, and reduce duplication of work concerning the issuance of consents.
Source: bit.ly/4cQs6af

4. India’s Environment Ministry has notified an Public Liability Insurance (Amendment) Rules, 2024. This amendment aims to increase scope of public liability insurance to environmental damage that may be caused by industrial accidents.
Source: bit.ly/3YihHjg

5. The India’s Central Drug Regulator (CDSCO) is reportedly planning to exempt the need for testing Cough Syrups intended for export to the US, UK, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Korea, and Switzerland at prescribed laboratories.
Source: bit.ly/4df0ZFz

TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS AND POLICY UPDATES

1. India’s Central Food Regulator the Food Safety Standards Authority, has introduced registration process for direct sellers to differentiate from Retailers, and make it easier to preserve exemption granted from regulation to direct sellers.

Source: bit.ly/4feuedl

 

2. The Kerala High Court in following with a recent decision of the Punjab High Court has held that the newly enforced Criminal Procedure (The Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2024) will apply to all criminal appeals filed on or after 1st July 2024, the day of enforcement of the  new law. The court held that while the substantial right to appeal is preserved under the repealed statute, the procedural right will transfer over as per Sec. 531 of the new Code.

Source: bit.ly/4bQpMi4

 

3. Exports of Drugs and Pharmaceuticals have reportedly increased by 9.5% in the first quarter of FY 2024-25 year-on-year.

Source: bit.ly/4d3x3Nb

 

4. In response to recent reports that India has the 2nd highest number of unvaccinated children, the Indian government has clarified in a press release that, this statistic is misleading as such children only constitute a minute 0.11% of the nation’s population of children.

Source: bit.ly/3zQzFPw

 

5. The United States Food and Drug Administration has published Guidance for Human radiolabeled mass balanced studies, prescribing the information that sponsors need to submit, most notably now requiring a minimum of 6 participants for such studies as against the accepted variance between 4-6 participants.

Source: bit.ly/3y2UEy8