NIPER should aim to become world's topmost institute in research: Amit Shah

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], September 30 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday dedicated the newly built campus of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) at Gandhinagar here.
Shah while addressing a gathering after dedicating the newly built campus said NIPER should aim to become the "world's topmost institute" not only in education but also in the field of research, unless India achieves mastery in the field of research, "we cannot dominate the field of drug manufacturing in the world." 
The Union minister said that seven NIPER centres have been opened by the Central government across the country. 
"Under PM Modi's government, (whether it is) Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana, increasing wellness centres, making lives healthier with the help of Yoga and Fit India movement, increasing seats by two and a half times in medical education. PM Modi government has added the same number of medical colleges in the country in five years as it was in 70 years," Shah said, adding that this government has taken a holistic approach in the health field. 
The event in Gandhinagar, Shah's Lok Sabha constituency, was attended by state Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
Meanwhile, while speaking to ANI, Mandaviya said that the permanent campus, inaugurated today, will usher in research and innovation in the pharma and medical devices sector in future.
"The new building of Gandhinagar was inaugurated by Shah today...It will contribute to the development of NIPER. The government of India has decided to develop NIPER Gandhinagar as a centre of excellence for medical devices. So that, in the future we can research, and innovate in medical devices. We are dependent on imports for 70 per cent of our medical devices," he said. 
"PM Modi, last month, declared a policy on research and development and innovation in the Pharma-MedTech sector. As per the scheme, with an expenditure of Rs 5000 crores, work will be done in the Med-Tech sector and innovation sector in the coming day. NIPER will also work as an important institute for that," the Union Health Minister added. 
NIPER Ahmedabad was initiated in 2007 with three specialisations Biotechnology, Natural Products, and Pharmaceutics, and over a period of time, three more specialisations Pharmaceutical Analysis, Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, and Toxicology were added in 2010.
Subsequently in 2011, to cater for the needs of the medical device industry in India, another feather was added to the cap of NIPER Ahmedabad in the form of specialisation in medical devices.