"This scheme has not been shelved. If any state government wants to run this, they are free to do so," he said.

The health minister said that he was trying to prevail upon the state governments to persuade their doctors towards rational use of antibiotics.

He said: "If good quality generic drugs are available, then they should be used".

Harsh Vardhan also said that he was in favour of a single National Eligibility Test (NET) for medical entrance exams in the country.

"Unfortunately this was rejected by the Supreme Court. We have filed a review petition and are monitoring it," he added.

The minister said that the new government has attached special importance to empowering the states so as to enable them to find solutions to localised health problems.

He said India will strive to become a world leader in research through optimum usage of cutting edge technologies like molecular medicine and bioengineering.

Three new bills to regulate health research and facilitate clinical practices in areas like surrogacy and new systems of medicine have been finalised, he added.

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