Govt clears proposal for labs to manage epidemics

The government today cleared a proposal to set up a network of laboratories for managing epidemics and natural calamities across the country, particularly in the wake of threat of disease outbreak looming large over flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in its meeting here cleared the proposal of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to establish such laboratories in medical colleges, states and different regions to help in increased medical research in view of spread of unknown viral diseases in the country.
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the proposal involves a total expenditure of Rs 646.83 crore. Of the total expense, the Centre will entail an expenditure of Rs 485 crore and the remaining around Rs 162 crore as states' contribution in such laboratories.

The CCEA also cleared another proposal of the Ministry to establish, strengthen multi-disciplinary research units in 80 government medical colleges across the country involving a total expenditure of Rs 503.85 crore, Azad said.
The Department of Health Research under the Health Ministry has proposed a three-tier structure for such labs with establishment of 120 of them in government medical colleges where the teachers will be involved in innovation and research and another 30 at the state-level.
The Department of Health research also proposes to set up 10 national level labs at the regional level across the country to help tackle disease control and research. These will be fully funded by the Centre and will have permanent structure and staff.

"This year we will establish such units in 35 colleges and in the remaining 45 medical colleges we will establish such units in 2014-15," Azad said.