New Delhi: In a first such initiative, the Environment Ministry will launch an online registration facility for institutions carrying out clinical trials on animals on April 24 to mark 'World Day for Animals in Laboratory'.
The online facility, to be launched by the Animal Welfare department of the ministry, is aimed at expediting the processing of the applications that usually take more than six months to a maximum of thirty days.
"People who are waiting for years to get license for clinical trials will get it done within a month's time," a senior official of the department said.
The registration of the institutions is done by Committee for Purpose of Control and Supervision on Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), which prescribes guidelines and procedures for animal experimentation.
According to the officials, 530 registration cases are pending with the Committee due to approvals that are required to be obtained from various sub-committees. However, the official did not give exact number of pending applications.
There are 1,807 institutions already registered under the Committee. The registration is usually applied by colleges, universities, hospitals and laboratories which intend to carry out trials on animals for bio-medical purposes or experiment on animals for various diseases.
The license is renewed by the Committee every three years by charging a one-time fee of Rs 1,000. The Committee is also deliberating on increasing the license fee, which the official said is too minimal.
"We are trying to make it a single window system where
all information will be available on the websites and the applicant will not have to wait for a long time," according to the Animal Welfare Board official.
The website will contain information from the procedure of registration to guidelines for maintenance and conducting of experiments on animals, he said.
It will also provide information on violation of rules and regulations laid down for clinical trials as the Committee has received several complaints on the matter.
"People who are waiting for years to get license for clinical trials will get it done within a month's time," the official added.
