New Delhi: India’s battle against spurious and substandard medicines is intensifying, but a critical data blind spot is undermining enforcement and public trust. Despite regular sampling and surveillance, granular, city-level data on drug quality failures remain largely undisclosed, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability.
While the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) releases monthly alerts on medicines classified as “Not of Standard Quality” (NSQ) and spurious drugs, the data is aggregated at the national level. This masks the true extent of the problem in major pharmaceutical hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, leaving consumers and local regulators without a clear picture of the risks in their own regions.
The gap is significant. Without disclosure of how many samples are tested, approved or rejected at the city or state level, experts say it becomes difficult to assess the effectiveness of enforcement agencies or identify hotspots of illegal drug circulation. The absence of this detail is increasingly being viewed as a systemic weakness that undermines oversight.
The concern comes amid repeated crackdowns. In Delhi, the sprawling wholesale drug markets of Bhagirath Palace and Chandni Chowk have recently been linked to a spurious medicine network, exposing the depth and reach of counterfeit supply chains. In April, authorities busted a major racket involving life-saving drugs, seizing over 1.20 lakh tablets and uncovering a ₹50 crore fake GST invoice network during the investigation.
Official data further underscores the scale of the problem. CDSCO’s alerts for the first quarter of 2026 flagged 576 NSQ or spurious drug batches — 214 in January, 194 in February and 168 in March. The March alert alone listed 168 medicines, including commonly used drugs such as paracetamol, diclofenac injections and critical formulations like tacrolimus and liposomal amphotericin B. Even medical devices such as absorbent gauze and electrosurgical pencils were found to be substandard. Reported failures ranged from incorrect assay and dissolution issues to microbial contamination and sterility lapses.
In February, four drug batches were flagged as suspected spurious after manufacturers denied producing them, highlighting the persistence of counterfeit operations infiltrating legitimate supply chains. Annual figures paint an equally worrying picture: in FY 2024–25, out of 1,16,323 samples tested, 3,104 were NSQ and 245 were identified as spurious.
Delhi’s position as a major distribution hub amplifies the risk. Medicines supplied from Bhagirath Palace reach multiple states, making any lapse in quality control a nationwide threat.
When contacted, Rajiv Bhargava, Deputy Drug Controller in the Delhi Drugs Control Department, declined to comment on why detailed drug checking reports are not made public, further fuelling questions about transparency.
Public health experts warn that without localized data disclosure, regulatory vigilance remains incomplete. “The information exists, but not in a form that allows targeted intervention,” said a senior health official, pointing to the urgent need for state- and city-level reporting.
Consumers, meanwhile, remain the last line of defence. Authorities advise purchasing medicines only from licensed pharmacies, insisting on proper bills with batch numbers and expiry dates, and carefully examining packaging for inconsistencies such as spelling errors, broken seals or blurred printing. Deep discounts on critical drugs, particularly life-saving medicines, are also seen as a red flag.
As enforcement agencies continue periodic crackdowns, the absence of transparent, region-specific data risks allowing the spurious drug trade to operate in the shadows — posing a persistent threat to public health.
(Cover Image: AI Generated)
