Quality of drugs in India under scanner, says minister

The Government of India has taken a number of stringent steps to check the quality of drugs available in the country, said Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilisers, Mansukh L. Mandaviya.
 
Replying to the question on status of quality of drugs available in India, Mandaviya informed that in the National Drug Survey conducted in the year 2014-16, 3.16 % of drugs were found ‘not of standard quality’ (NSQ). The minister further stated that the test reports of the drug samples declared as NSQ were forwarded to the concerned state licensing authorities with a request to take appropriate action and also to take legal samples of the same batch of drugs for testing.
 
Some of the steps taken by the government to check quality of drugs available in the country includes amendment of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 to provide stringent penalties for manufacture of spurious and adulterated drugs as well as announcement of the Whistle Blower Scheme to encourage vigilant public participation in the detection of movement of spurious drugs in the country.