Health Ministry highlights steps taken to ensure cough syrup and drug quality in India

# Cognisable and non-bailable offences

# Special courts in states and Union Territories for the trial of offences under the acts for speedy disposal

# Required submission of bioequivalence study results along with applications for manufacturing licenses of oral dosage form drugs

# Mandatory joint inspection of manufacturing establishments by the Drugs Inspectors of the Central Government and State Government

# Required submission of evidence of stability and safety of excipients to the State Licensing Authority before being granted a manufacturing license by the authority

# Increased number of sanctioned posts in the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in the last 10 years

# Expert advice and activity coordination by the CDSCO, State Drug Control Organisations, Drugs Consultive Committee, and State Drug Controllers

Furthermore, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya wrote specifically about cough syrups and regulatory measures by the administration to ensure their quality. He noted that manufacturers are required to comply with the conditions of the licence granted under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to manufacture any drugs for sale and distribution in India

In numbers, these are the updates Mandaviya provided:

Mandaviya also pointed out that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on May 22 issued a notification mandating cough syrup manufacturers to get a certificate of analysis from a government-approved laboratory before exporting their products.