Chandigarh, March 24: The Haryana Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini here today, approved amendments to the Haryana Health Department Pharmacists (Group-C) Service Rules, 1998, with the aim of addressing staff shortages and improving healthcare service delivery across the state.
After the post of Pharmacist was redesignated as Pharmacy Officer in 2021, the minimum qualification was upgraded to a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy along with a mandatory six-month training requirement in hospital-based pharmacy services. However, the stricter criteria resulted in a limited pool of eligible candidates, leading to vacancies in government hospitals and dispensaries. To address this issue, the Cabinet has approved the removal of the mandatory six-month training requirement from the Service Rules. This step is expected to significantly widen the pool of eligible candidates and facilitate faster recruitment.
In another key decision, the Cabinet has approved a change in the recruitment ratio for the post of Pharmacy Officer. The share of direct recruitment has been increased from 75 percent to 95 percent, while the quota for promotion has been reduced from 25 percent to 5 percent.
The Cabinet has also approved the incorporation of revised pay scales in the Service Rules. The pay level for Pharmacy Officers has been updated from FPL-6 to FPL-6A, with a revised basic pay of Rs. 39,900, as already approved by the Finance Department.
The move is expected to strengthen healthcare services in Haryana by ensuring timely recruitment of qualified Pharmacy Officers and addressing manpower gaps in public health institutions across the state.
