Why in the news?

  • Union Health Ministry virtually launched the State Health Regulatory Excellence Index (SHRESTH).

State Health Regulatory Excellence Index (SHRESTH)

  • What is it?
    • It is an initiative that seeks to improve the performance of state drug regulatory authorities across the country, ensuring consistent adherence to drug safety and quality standards.
    • It was proposed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO)
  • Implementation: CDSCO implements the programme on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • Objectives
    • Create a benchmark to drug regulatory systems of States and UTs
    • Improve the infrastructure and human capital in the field of drug regulation
    • Achieve digitisation in drug regulatory ecosystem
    • Strengthen the public trust in the drugs circulated in India
  • Key Features:
    • Two tier classification of states into Manufacturing states and Distribution states
    • Data driven ranking with monthly data sharing with CDSCO
    • Sharing success stories from top performers
    • Uniform implementation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act across all the states and UTs of India
    • Standards aligning with WHO standards