Shimla: The Drugs Control Administration (DCA) in Himachal Pradesh has conducted 142 joint inspections with the central inspection officers between Jan 2023 and Oct 2024. As a result, action has been taken against 116 pharmaceutical companies producing substandard medicines, state health minister Col Dhani Ram Shandil (Retd) said on Thursday.
While chairing a review meeting with the officers of the DCA, the health minister told that the manufacturing of the identified substandard product at such companies was thus suspended for one to two months and legal proceedings were initiated in the respective jurisdictions. Additionally, these companies were directed to review and rectify their manufacturing processes.
Reaffirming the state govt’s commitment to ensuring the availability of affordable and quality medicines for the people, the health minister said the DCA was actively enforcing the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to maintain high standards of medicines’ quality.
Col Shandil noted that Himachal Pradesh accounts for 33% of the country’s medicine production. According to a survey by the Health Ministry, the national percentage of substandard medicines stands at 3.16%, but Himachal Pradesh’s figure over the last three years has been significantly lower at 1.22%, which is less than half the national average.
The cabinet minister said the data on substandard medicines is regularly shared with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and made available on its website to ensure public awareness.
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