Shimla, Aug. 4 -- Himachal Pradesh technical education minister Rajesh Dharmani has written to Union minister JP Nadda urging to establish a National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in the state. "I requested that NIPER be established in Himachal Pradesh. Since technical education, including pharmacy colleges, comes under my department, such an institution will significantly benefit the state," he said. The minister said Himachal Pradesh is one of India's leading pharmaceutical manufacturing hubs, but stressed that the industry must now invest in research rather than depending primarily on generic medicines. He added that while institutions like NIPER are already conducting high-level research elsewhere in the country, no such institute exists yet in a major pharmaceutical hub like Himachal.htc...