As curtains come down on 2008, the most
audacious ever terror strike on 26 November in the heart of
India’s business capital has left a deep scar. In terms
of individual casualties, utter destruction of properties,
abject disregard for human rights, horrendous intelligence
failure (and/or swift follow-up action on it), obsolete arms
& tactics in use by the local law-enforcement agencies,
absence of a prompt crisis response system, and the alarming
list goes on…
Going by the after-shocks of this incident
on the country’s business environment, which saw postponement/cancellation
of a number of key industrial events and a sudden rise in
the threat perception among visitors/investors from overseas,
this probably may not have come at a worse time, given the
current global economic slump. Also, the spontaneous mass
outrage across the country as well as strong reactions from
across the world must make it an inflection point.
As the investigation into it gets underway,
the need of the hour before the nation is to do an intensive
(and extensive) soul searching followed by a clear & accountable
action plan by the Government to avert such mishaps in the
future. Enough of words, let there be concrete action and
better be on time.
Moving on, here is a glance at some of
the key highlights of this edition. The tremendous growth witnessed
in the burgeoning sectors of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology
in India has given a fresh lease of life to the analytical instrumentation
market in the country. This is
also a reflector of India’s growth arising from globalisation.
In fact, current global economic conditions are most likely
to further influence foreign companies to outsource their
research and manufacturing activities to India.
Another trend that is expected to be
significant in the local analytical instruments market is
the collaborative R&D efforts between foreign suppliers
and Indian analytical instrument manufacturers. For more on
this, turn to the ‘Cover Story’.
Now, let us look at a new concept that
is making rounds across the fashion industry - ‘Cosmeceuticals’-
accompanied by several pharmaceutical and healthcare firms
venturing into manufacturing these products. However, it seems
that this industry exists in a state of regulatory limbo as
neither does the FDA actually recognise the term cosmeceutical,
nor is there an official definition for the word. The ‘Special
Feature’ will make an interesting read.
Last but not the least, take a
look at the ‘Roundtable’. This presents the viewpoints
of some industry experts on making standardisation of ayurvedic
medicines mandatory.
Read on.
Manas R Bastia
Editor
manas@infomediaindia.com
|
