Crucial Facts about ICMR for UPSC

1. ICMR is funded by the Government of India.
2. It operates under the Department of Health Services (DHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW).
3. The headquarters of ICMR is situated in New Delhi.
4. ICMR is neither a statutory body nor a regulatory body.
5. ICMR hosts the Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI), which was established on 20th July 2007.
   • CTRI is a free and online public record system for the registration of clinical trials being conducted in India.
   • Till 15th June 2009, the clinical trial registry was a voluntary measure. After this date, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has made trial registration at CTRI mandatory.
   • The importance of CTRI is that it encourages registration of clinical trials before the enrolment of the first participant.
6. ICMR has been publishing the Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR) since 1913.
7. ICMR’s National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) was established in 1918 as ‘Beri Beri Enquiry’ at the Pasteur Institute, Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.
   • Sir Robert McCarrison was the founder of the ‘Beri Beri’ enquiry unit, now known as NIN.
8. The governing body of ICMR is presided over by the Union Health Minister of India.
9. Prof. Balram Bhargava, secretary of DHS, is the Director-General of ICMR.
10. ICMR supervises 27 institutes/regional medical research centres. The list of these centres is given below:

Accomplishments of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

1. The research on indigenous drugs was initiated by ICMR in 1919.
2. ICMR published ‘Nutritive Value of Indian Foods and Planning of Satisfactory Diets’ for the first time in the country in 1937.
3. ICMR initiated the first-ever ‘Biomedical Research Fellowship’ in 1941. This fellowship aimed at nurturing health research in the country.
4. The National Programme for the control of Filariasis was initiated by ICMR in 1949.
5. The first nationwide tuberculosis survey was conducted by ICMR in 1955.
6. ICMR discovered the Kyasanur Forest Disease in the Sagar-Saroba district of Karnataka.
   • Since 1990, ICMR has been conducting annual rounds of vaccination in the region.
7. ICMR demonstrated the success of TB home-based treatment in 1959, which is as effective as hospital-based treatment. This discovery made home-based treatment of Tuberculosis known worldwide.
8. The causal agent for human encephalitis, the Chandipura Virus, was discovered by ICMR in 1967.
9. Human Hepatitis E was discovered in 1980.
10. The first genetic atlas of the Indian tribes was compiled by ICMR in 1984.
11. ICMR launched a vaccine against Japanese encephalitis , “JENVAC,” in 2013.
12. The ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research became the world’s 7th knowledge hub on smokeless tobacco of WHO-FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.)
13. India’s first comprehensive state-wise disease burden estimation was released by ICMR in 2017.
14. In 2018, Zika , Nipah and Canine Distemper Virus were successfully contained.
15. In 2019, ICMR partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) and 10 nations to launch ‘RESEARCH’.
    • RESEARCH stands for Regional Enabler for South East Asia Research Collaboration.
    • The aim of this initiative is to combat emerging and reemerging infectious diseases in the region of Southeast Asia.
16. Also in 2019, ICMR launched an initiative to fast track the elimination of Malaria, called ‘MERA’. It stands for Malaria Elimination Research Alliance.
17. In September 2019, The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill was passed by the Indian Parliament. ICMR had provided an evidence report against e-cigarettes.
18. To promote health research between India and Africa, the India-Africa Health Sciences Collaborative Platform (IAHSP) was launched.
19. ICMR and COVID-19:
    • RT-PCR and ELISA were developed in 2019.
    • Covaxin has been developed.

You may also find these UPSC Preparation Links beneficial: