Centre launches Nandi portal for granting NOC for veterinary drugs, vaccines

Union Minister Parshottam Rupala on Monday launched a Nandi portal to timely process applications and grant non-objection certification (NOC) for veterinary drugs and vaccines.

The regulation of the import, manufacturing and marketing of veterinary drugs and vaccines comes under the purview of the Central Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) under the Ministry of Health. However, permission for the import/manufacture of veterinary drugs, vaccines and biological are granted in consultation with the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The present system is manual.

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“The Health Ministry gives final approval of drugs and vaccines. In the case of veterinary products, it cannot give without the NOC from us. Since granting of NOC was manual, delay/obstacle from our ministry was felt. So, the portal NANDI (NOC Approval for New Drug and Inoculation System) has been launched,” the Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister said after the launch. This is a timely step as more demand for veterinary products is likely to rise due to the livestock vaccination drive being undertaken in the country, Rupala said.

Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Sanjeev Kumar Balyan said, “Nandi portal is part of Digital India. The drug approval process is a lengthy process. Many times, we don’t get to know in which department the application is under process. After the launch of the portal, this problem will be addressed”. A senior ministry official said currently, 13 manual applications are under review. Once approved, the NOC will be generated online. From today, the applications will have to be applied via the Nandi portal for NOC.

With the portal, the regulatory approval process to assess and examine veterinary product proposals will be more streamlined through seamless integration with the SUGAM portal of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and Drugs Controller General of India and will also stride towards achieving the interventions laid out as part of its Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative (APPI). According to the ministry, an application submitted at CDSCO SUGAM Portal will be forwarded to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the applicant can submit the dossier online using the same login credentials. The application will be reviewed by experts of the Empowered Committee on Animal Health based on essentiality and desirability. Thereafter, the NOC will be granted and that will be generated online and issued.