The Government has taken the following measures to check the problem of Spurious/Sub-standard Drugs.
1. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 was amended under Drugs & Cosmetics (Amendment) Act 2008. Stringent penalties for manufacture of spurious and adulterated drugs have been provided for certain offences have also been made cognizable and non-bailable.
2. The States/UTs were requested to set up special Courts for trial of offences under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act for speedy disposal. So far 16 States have already set up designated special Courts for trial of cases related to spurious and sub-standard drugs.
3. A Whistle Blower Scheme has been announced by the Government of India to encourage vigilant public participation in the detection of movement of spurious drugs in the country.
The scheme provides for suitably rewarding the informers for providing concrete information to the regulatory authorities in respect of movement of spurious drugs. The details of the policy are available at the website of CDSCO (www.cdsco.nic.in).
4. Guidelines for taking action on samples of drugs declared spurious or not- of- standard quality in the light of enhanced penalties under the Drugs & Cosmetics (Amendment) Act, 2008 were forwarded to the State Drugs Controllers for uniform implementation.
5. The inspectorate staff have been instructed to keep vigil and draw samples of drugs for test and analysis to monitor the quality of drugs moving in the country.
6. The Government has decided to strengthen both the Central and States` drug regulatory system during the 12th Five Year Plan enabling them to keep more effective watch on the unscrupulous elements indulging in unlawful activities.
This was stated by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.
