Lok Sabha Question No. 1800 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-11
Subject: Sale of Spurious Durgs
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Uday Pratap Singh, Hibi Eden

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †1800 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 th  FEBRUARY, 2022

## SALE OF SPURIOUS DURGS

## †1800. SHRI UDAY PRATAP SINGH:

- SHRI HIBI EDEN: Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state: (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  sale  of  spurious  and  illegal  drugs  and  black marketing of drugs  during COVID-19 pandemic; (b) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise; (c) the action taken by the Government against drug manufacturing companies and sellers, State/UT-wise during the last three years and the current year; (d)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  formulate  stringent  laws  to  curb  spurious  drugs
- trade spreading from cities to villages; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) to  (e):  Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Ministry of Health and Family  Welfare  regulates  quality,  safety  and  efficacy  of  Drugs,  Medical  Device  and Cosmetics  in  the  country  under  the  provisions  of  Drugs  &  Cosmetics  Act,  1940  and  its Rules.  CDSCO  has  been  monitoring  production  and  supplies  of  the  Covid-19  drugs  in respect of the concerned manufacturers on regular basis.

Licenses  for  manufacture,  sale  and  distribution  of  drugs  are  granted  by  the  State Licensing Authorities (SLAs) appointed by respective State Governments. SLAs are legally empowered  to  take  stringent  action  against  violation  of  provisions  of  the  Drugs  and Cosmetics Act and its Rules.

As  regards  black-marketing  issues,  CDSCO  has  requested  all  States/UTs  Licensing Authorities through several advisories to instruct their enforcement staff to keep strict vigil especially at sensitive places and to take stringent action against the offenders by conducting special drive of monitoring and investigation.

As  per  information  available  from  various  State  Licensing  Authorities,  in  case  of black-marketing/hoarding/ overcharging of COVID-19 management drugs, various enforcement actions like Drug seizure, Arrests of accused persons/ registration of FIR etc. have  been  carried  out  by  the  State  Licensing  Authorities.  State-wise  details  of  Blackmarketing, hoarding, overpricing, spurious manufacturing of drugs reported during Covid-19 pandemic are as below:

Andhra  Pradesh-31,  Punjab-04,  Chandigarh-01,  Chhattisgarh-08,  Delhi-15,  Gujarat-14, Haryana-24, Jharkhand-01, Karnataka-12, Madhya Pradesh-10, Maharashtra-50, Rajasthan14, Tamil Nadu-01, Telangana-01, Uttarakhand-05, Uttar Pradesh-68 & West Bengal-02

As  per  information  received  from  various  State/UT  Drugs  Controllers,  number  of drugs  samples  tested,  number  of  drugs  samples  declared  sub-standard  and  spurious/ adulterated during the last three years are as below:

| Year          | No. of drugs sample s tested   | No. of drugs samples declared not of standar d quality   | %No. of drugs samples declared not of standar d quality   |   No. of drugs samples declared spurious/ adulterat ed |   % No. of drugs samples declared spurious/ adulterate d | No. of prosecutio ns   | No. of perso ns arrest ed   |
|---------------|--------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 79,604        | 2,549                          | 3.35                                                     |                                                           |                                                    205 |                                                     0.27 | 484 153                | 2018-19                     |
| 2019-20 81329 | 2497                           |                                                          | 3.07                                                      |                                                    199 |                                                     0.24 | 421                    | 220                         |
| 2020-21       | 84874                          | 2652                                                     | 3.12                                                      |                                                    263 |                                                     0.31 | 236                    | 164                         |

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