DoP releases guidelines for hiring of technical and non-technical manpower to fill in-house skill gap

New Delhi, February 24, 2023 :

The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has issued new guidelines for hiring of technical and non technical consultants, and young professionals in order to fill the skill gap in the in-house expertise in technical areas and to compensate for the large number of vacancies in the Central Secretariat Services.

The guideline, released in suppression of the guidelines for hiring of consultants on contract basis in the department, issued in June, 2020, spells detailed requirements and terms and conditions for hiring of professionals and consultants.

The move is to support the pharmaceutical industry to achieve new heights in the global pharmaceutical market, which require measures to be taken by the Department based on industry feedback and global experiences. Some of the measures include policy measures and incentivisation, investment and trades, nurturing skilled manpower and researchers, and industry facilitation.

The promotion and coordination of basic, applied and other research in the areas related to pharmaceutical sector including international cooperation on pharma research are key areas to enhance competitiveness of the sector. The DoP, as a technical department, is entrusted to perform a lot of technical works.

Explaining the requirement for the guidelines for hiring technical staff, the DoP says, “However, as the Department does not have in-house technical expertise and needs to hire personnel - Young professionals (Tech), Technical Consultants and Senior Technical Consultants who possess the requisite skill set - with more flexibility to deliver.”

The young professionals (Tech), technical consultants and senior technical consultants to be hired are expected to work in areas where in-house expertise is not available,”

The Department, specifically, requires high quality professionals with expertise in pharmaceutical and medical devices research and development, examination of drug and drug formulation, examination of critical and restricted active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)/Key starting materials (KSMs), examination of medical devices regulation, standards etc., examination of proposals in international cooperation, project management, legal, foreign direct investment (FDI), fixation of input-output norms and others.

The total number of individual technical experts to be engaged by the Department shall depend on the actual requirement at a particular time and available budgetary provision, said the DoP. They shall have a legal status of an independent consultant or professional, but will not be regarded as staff members or an official of the department, it added.

The consultant or professional may be hired initially for a year and not exceeding five years for providing high quality services on specific piece of work and the continuation of service beyond five years will be contingent upon satisfactory performance to be assessed by respective divisional head based on Key Performance Indicators and subject to the approval of the Department Secretary. The application forms will be shortlisted by the Pharma Bureau and finalised by a five member selection committee.

The guidelines for hiring of non-technical consultants and another set of guidelines for the hiring of non-technical young professionals on contract basis, the DoP adds that in view of a large number of vacancies in the Central Secretariat Services in the categories of Principal Private Secretary/Private Secretary/Personal Assistant and Section Officer/Assistant Section Officer, consultants (non-technical) are also required to be hired to perform certain secretarial works and provide office support.

The total number of individual consultants and young professionals to be engaged by the Department shall depend on the actual requirement at a particular time and available budgetary provision, it added.  Pharmabiz