New Delhi, Sep 17 - India will soon produce raw material for Oseltamivir, one of the drugs used in treatment of Influenza A (H1N1) virus, health ministry officials said Thursday. The move will help bring down the cost of the drug.

'We have decided to allow indigenous production of Shikimic acid,' union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters here.

Shikimic acid is the raw material required for producing Oseltamivir. India is currently importing it.

Azad said an expert group has been constituted at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to oversee the process.

He said proposals were received from various Indian institutions and the ministry has given approval to four of them.