“Pharmacists will be valued the most in the next five years”: declared President of the Pharmacy Council of India at LPU

* The occasion was LPU’s one-day International Conference on Recent Advances in Health Sciences-ICRAHS 2024

The President of the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), Dr. Montu Patel, made a significant declaration during the International Conference on Recent Advances in Health Sciences (ICRAHS-2024) held at Lovely Professional University (LPU). Dr. Patel highlighted the growing importance of pharmacists in the next five years and expressed the belief that they will be the most valued professionals in the industry.

Dr. Montu Patel emphasized the need to bridge the gap between the pharmacy industry and academia and encouraged students to embrace modern health education systems with the support of all stakeholders. He also mentioned that the PCI is actively working to ensure that pharmacists can earn well by utilizing their expertise, similar to other practicing professionals like dieticians and cosmetologists.

Rajya Sabha Member & LPU’s Founder Chancellor, Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal presided over the inaugural ceremony of the conference. Congratulating all under the umbrella of PCI, Dr Mittal shared that by encouraging digitalization, the PCI has turned paperless and is making many other revolutionary strides for the advantage of pharmacy students as well as the general public. 

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Jai Anusandhan”, initially propagated at the LPU campus, India invented COVID-19 vaccine to cure 50% of the world’s population and more than 100 crores of Indians. It was the first outcome of this vision with immense research and implementation thereof by pharmacy professionals. Presently, India is the world’s 3rd largest supplier of low-cost generics, vaccines and affordable medicines. It is all because of the Pharmacy Council’s sincere efforts. Dr Mittal motivated all at the conference to continue doing better in the pharmacy industry and education.

The conference, organized by LPU’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, saw the participation of over 700 delegates from various Indian states and countries worldwide. The event included both online and offline presentations, with more than 400 online and 250 offline presentations delivered.

Several international guest speakers, including Prof. Kamal Dua from Australia, Dr. Yetty from Indonesia, and Dr. Rajiv K. Singla from China, congratulated the Chairperson of the Conference, Prof. Dr. Monica Gulati, for her efforts in balancing pharmacy education and industry needs. Additionally, an online pharmacy journal related to the conference was also launched. Keynote addresses by Prof. Vandana Patravale (ICT, Mumbai), Dr Anil Kumar (PU, Chandigarh) and Dr Harish Dureja (MDU, Rohtak) were highly appreciated by the delegates.

Lovely Professional University is accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with an A++ Grade and has also accreditation from the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI). The university has a strong placement record and is renowned globally for its exceptional pharmacy program. Furthermore, LPU secured a prominent position in the QS World University Rankings by Subjects-2024, ranking 9th among all top government and private Indian universities for Pharmacy and Pharmacology.

The event also witnessed the presence of other distinguished guests from the PCI, including Sh. Sushil Bansal (President, Punjab State Pharmacy Council), Dr. Deependra Singh (PCI), Dr. Dharmender Singh (EC Member, PCI), Sh. Sukhwinder Pal (CC Member, PCI), Sh. Gopal Krishan Sharma (President, HP State Pharmacy Council), Sh. Sushil Sudan, and Dr. Jasbir Singh (Registrar, Punjab State Pharmacy Council).