New Delhi: In what has alarmed the government, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has found widespread data faking on the government’s DIGI-PHARMed portal for teachers.
As many as 45,355 cases of duplicate or invalid profile details have been registered on the portal.
There are more than 42,000 pharmacy colleges in India with around 11.2 million pharmacists being registered with the council.
Pharmacists are at the forefront of healthcare, often serving as the first point of contact for individuals seeking health advice or primary care. Their roles extend far beyond merely dispensing medications.
In a recent meeting, the pharmacy education regulator was made aware about many pharmacists creating fake profiles using the same Aadhaar or PAN number, and working as faculty in multiple institutions.
Taking cognizance of this fraudulent activity, the council has decided to blacklist these fake faculty and debar them permanently if found guilty a second time.
“Council has analyzed that many pharmacists have created duplicate profiles with the same Aadhaar number or PAN number. In addition to this, all these duplicate profiles on a single Aadhaar number were found working as a faculty in different institutions,” said Anil Mittal, registrar-cum-secretary, PCI, in a communication to the registered pharmacists, state pharmacy councils and approved pharmacy institutions.
The council said that these pharmacists have entered invalid/fake Aadhaar or PAN card details during the registration on DIGI-PHARMed Portal, including Aadhaar numbers having more or less than 12 digits.
