379 of 89k drug samples found spurious, Rajya Sabha told | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Out of the 88,844 drug samples tested between April 2021 and March 2022, more than 2,500 were ‘not of standard quality’, while 379 have been found to be ‘spurious’, junior health minister Bharati Pravin Pawar told Rajya Sabha in response to a Parliament question.

In his written reply, Pawar said 592 prosecutions were launched for manufacturing, sale and distribution of spurious or adulterated drugs between April 2021 and March 2022, as per information received from drug controllers of various states and Union territories.
Health ministry sources said the government has stopped the production of drugs at 31 firms and cancelled or suspended the product licenses of 50 firms on finding non-adherence to quality control norms over the last few months. In addition, the sources said, show cause notice has been issued to 73 firms, and warning letters have been issued against 21 firms.

The action is result of a nationwide inspection of drug manufacturing units identified to be at the risk of manufacturing ‘not of standard quality’ being carried out by drug regulatory bodies in the backdrop of recent controversies over alleged adulteration in certain products, the sources said.