Centre issues draft guidelines for procurement of ayurvedic medicines for CGHS

The Central government has issued a set of draft guidelines for procurement of ayurvedic  medicines for the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). The  procurement shall be done through rate contract (RC) and normal  validity of RC will be for a period of two years, which may be  extended for a period of six months in one instance and upto a  period of one more year on the discretion of the ministry.

The procurement of medicines  will be recommended by a provisioning committee and shall be  approved by the ministry. A panel of medical inspection  committee shall be constituted, comprising of three members each
for two years with two months tenure will be prepared and  approval for the same will be obtained from the director CGHS to  compare the bulk supply of medicines in two phase. 

According to the draft the  ayurvedic medicines that are manufactured by Indian Medicines  Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited (IMPCL) may be procured  without inviting tender or rate enquiry at rates finalised by
the cost and account branch of Department of  Expenditure/Ministry of Finance. However this is applicable only  if IMPCL provides barcode for their list of manufacturing  medicines from next financial year.

Apart from getting ayurvedic  medicines from IMPCL, CGHS will also procure medicines from open  market through tendering process by following two bid procedure.  These medicines would be generic medicines that are not in the  list of medicines being produced by IMPCL or medicines which are  certified by the IMPCL having not produced for the period and  proprietary medicines as per approved CGHS formulary under
disease category.

The draft mentions that the  procurement of the medicines shall also be done through approved local chemists if a formulary medicine is not available in the  store dispensaries, units or hospitals and even the medicines of
equal therapeutic value is is not available in the existing  formulary.

It has been notified that the  medicines shall be procured only from the firm that has a  manufacturing unit with an average annual turnover of rupees 50 lakh per year for three years. Interested firm should be able to
pay Rs 25,000 and performance security of Rs 50,000 EMD for a  period of four to five months and performance security for a  period of three years. 

The firm should possess for the last  three years the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificate  issued under Schedule T of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940  rules there under in force. The draft specifies that all the  firms catering should be able to provide barcode system for the  selected medicines on the label and packaging unit. “Procurement of ayurvedic  medicines for CGHS, Delhi will be made as per annual  provisioning worked out on the pattern of daily patients  attendance rate (DPAR) formula and annual demand submitted by  the hospitals.

The provisioning of classical and patent  proprietary medicines of IMPCL and other firms will be made on
the assumption of the last three years,” the draft states. It states that the first  preference for the procurement of the medicines shall go to  IMPCL. However the draft clarifies that CGHS may procure  medicines which are not supplied by the IMPCL from state  government or co-operative pharmacies provided they are willing  to supply medicines on CGHS rate contract. It states that the  ratio of 60:40 in terms of value in classical and propriety  medicines will be maintained in the CGHS procurement.