fm-sitharaman-proposes-bharat-fda-for-global-standards

India is setting pharmaceutical standards, and like the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), we should seek to establish the Bharat Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for global standards and benchmarks, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated.

 

Speaking at the 8th India Ideas Conclave organized by the India Foundation here, FM Sitharaman said the country must establish "Brand India" as a destination for innovative solutions to modern urban needs.

 

“India is setting standards in pharmaceuticals. As US FDA Standards are useful for exports, can we, in India, not have the Bharat Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which can give global standards and benchmarks? We need to focus on that,” she told the gathering.

 

The Finance Minister further said that Brand India’s’ economic growth model should have features of LIFE—'Lifestyle ‘for Environment’ as mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—to “be more nature friendly and have sustainability, which is inherent to us.”.

 

According to her, it is important that in the top 100 tourist centres in India, “we have a self-learning program that is digitally run for the architecture of that site, for understanding the value for tourism of that site, and for Sanskrit, Pali, or any other language that is identified with that site.”.

 

“We should give learning material for those who want to understand the signature Indian architectural marvels so as to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to tourism,” FM Sitharaman added.

 

She further stated that we didn’t follow the circular economy and principle of re-use because we were an impoverished nation.

 

The circular economy is a paradigm that aims to reduce waste while encouraging the sustainable use of natural resources in order to increase production and consumption.

 

"We considered it our job to use according to our needs rather than our greed. We must recognise that capitalism has limitations and position India as a'responsible 'capitalist' country," remarked the Finance Minister.

 

On startups and the gig economy, she stated that innovations such as fast commerce have the potential to join the ranks of global players in the future.