Indian Council of Medical Research got 2 patents in three years
In 2015 and 2016, only 1,685 research papers were published and the paltry number has disappointed the Committee.
Hyderabad: The Indian Council of Medical Research has come under fire from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, which accused the organisation of poor quality research work.
Officials said that the ICMR, over the past two years, has been responsible for only two patents and added that research work being conducted by the body was “not up to the mark”.
The committee maintained that research work must be sped up due to the country’s disease burden and focus must be on eradicating diseases being faced by the populace here.
A senior scientist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “India’s disease burden includes tuberculosis and diabetes – problems that need to be addressed aggressively. The ICMR has to make sure that adequate and systematic research is carried out to create cures. Antibiotic resistance is another area where more focus is needed. The government’s research body must also make sure that projects are sped up.”
In 2015 and 2016, only 1,685 research papers were published and the paltry number has disappointed the Committee, which also found that out of a total of 45 patents, only three had been cleared by the department.
Sources said ICMR scientists had asked for more time for research and added that the government’s need to speed up scientific investigations into diseases was not feasible.