591
Overcharging demand notices issued by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority that were still pending (not recovered) on 30 September 2025, out of 1,021 issued since FY 2015–16, per a written Lok Sabha reply of 20 March 2026. It includes 107 notices from 2015–16. It does not show how much was demanded, whether companies dispute the notices, or how common overcharging is.
Stop Medical Exploitation: Safe Medicines, Fair Prices and Enforcement the Public Can Check
In 2024–25, India's drug regulators tested 1,16,323 medicine samples. 3,104 were declared not of standard quality and 245 spurious or adulterated. These are the Health Ministry's own figures, reported by the States. They show a system that tests and finds problems. They do not show how many medicines on a chemist's shelf are unsafe, only what was sampled.
According to press reports, at least 24 children in Madhya Pradesh, mostly under five, died of suspected kidney failure in October 2025 after taking Coldrif cough syrup, in which one tested sample reportedly held diethylene glycol far above the permitted limit (counts vary). The reports say the maker's licence was revoked and arrests were made. On 27 October 2026, the Drugs Controller General wrote to State and UT drug controllers that testing every batch of raw materials, including critical excipients such as propylene glycol, glycerol and sorbitol, and of each finished batch is a statutory requirement, and asked them to direct manufacturers to comply. An earlier CDSCO letter of 7 October 2025 had recorded that inspections observed manufacturers not testing each batch of excipients and active ingredients.
Prices and prescribing follow the same pattern. The price regulator has issued 1,021 overcharging demand notices since 2015–16; 430 have been recovered, 591 are pending, and it keeps no State-wise record. According to reports of the order, on 8 October 2026 the Supreme Court directed the Centre to set up a committee on pharma marketing and freebies to doctors, after questioning whether the existing code can be enforced.
Aarunya stands with the patient. We make no accusation against the pharmaceutical industry or the medical profession as a whole. We ask for something narrower: publish what happens after each violation is found, staff the inspections that find them, and give patients one clear place to complain.
3,104
Medicine samples declared not of standard quality in 2024–25, out of 1,16,323 tested (about 2.7%); a further 245 (about 0.2%) were declared spurious or adulterated. Samples are not a random draw of the market, so this is not the share of unsafe medicines in circulation. Percentages are Aarunya's arithmetic. Status: verified.
source591
Overcharging demand notices pending out of 1,021 issued between FY 2015–16 and 30 September 2025. Pending is not the same as unlawful or ignored; the reply gives neither amounts demanded nor reasons for delay. Status: verified.
source₹138.6 crore
Total recovered through 430 overcharging cases over the same period (₹13,860.93 lakh). The reply gives no total demanded, so a recovery rate cannot be calculated. Status: verified.
source250 of 504
Drug-inspector posts reported vacant at CDSCO (187 of 419 in the regulatory division and 63 of 85 in medical devices), per an RTI reply of 27 October 2025 as reported. CDSCO is one part of the system; most inspection of manufacture and sale is by State authorities, for which we found no national figure. Status: provisional.
sourceOur position
Patients should be able to see what happens after a medicine is found unsafe, overpriced or improperly promoted. Aarunya asks for a public record of enforcement, not for blame, and makes no accusation against any company, doctor or official.
Why this matters
Why this matters
Aarunya's stand
Aarunya stands with the patient, and with honest medicine. A person who buys a medicine, or follows a doctor's advice, should be able to trust that it is safe, fairly priced and not shaped by hidden inducements. Regulators must test, inspect and act, and they must show the public what happened next. Rules that cannot be seen to work protect no one, and secrecy about enforcement helps only those who would rather not be seen. We make no accusation against the pharmaceutical industry or the medical profession as a whole, and none against any named company, doctor or official. Allegations raised by others are labelled as allegations. Our demand is for the public record that would let anyone check.
A test result is not a prevalence
The 2024–25 figures sit within a five-year series in which samples tested rose from 84,874 to 1,16,323, while not-of-standard-quality findings stayed between about 2.7% and 3.2% and spurious findings between about 0.2% and 0.4%. More testing finding a steady share is consistent with a system that is testing harder, but it cannot show whether medicines are getting safer. The Ministry says action on individual complaints is taken by the licensing authority. What the public cannot see is what that action was.
The cough syrup deaths show what one missed test can cost
A toxic industrial chemical, diethylene glycol, can be substituted for pharmaceutical-grade solvents such as propylene glycol, which is why testing each incoming batch matters. According to press reports, in October 2025 the Tamil Nadu drug authorities found Coldrif samples not of standard quality, and Madhya Pradesh reported one sample with 48.6% diethylene glycol against a 0.1% permitted impurity limit. The WHO issued an alert on three syrups. A CDSCO letter of 7 October 2025 recorded that inspections and investigations of drugs declared not of standard quality had observed manufacturers not testing each batch of excipients and active ingredients. On 27 October 2026 the Drugs Controller General wrote again to State and UT drug controllers that testing every batch of raw materials and finished product is a statutory requirement, and a separate notice of the same date makes registration and batch-wise reporting mandatory for makers and suppliers of high-risk pharmaceutical solvents on a digital monitoring system. We read both notices on CDSCO's website. Neither says how many makers were found non-compliant. Prosecutions are ongoing; this page makes no finding about any individual or company. The Coldrif facts are from press reports and remain provisional.
Rules are tightening; inspectors are few
Revised Schedule M (good manufacturing practice) has applied to larger makers since 29 June 2024 and to smaller makers (turnover under ₹250 crore) since 1 January 2026. QR-code traceability applied to the top 300 brands, and a June 2026 amendment extends it to all vaccines, narcotic and psychotropic drugs and anti-cancer drugs from 1 July 2027, and to antimicrobials from 1 July 2028. Rules matter only if inspected. An RTI reply of October 2025 reported 187 of 419 regulatory and 63 of 85 medical-device drug-inspector posts vacant at CDSCO. We found no national table of State inspector strength. Official for the rules; provisional for the staffing figures.
Price notices are issued, but the follow-through is hard to see
The price regulator issues a demand notice when a prima facie case of overcharging is established. Of 1,021 notices since 2015–16, 430 have been recovered (₹138.6 crore) and 591 are pending, 107 of them from 2015–16. The regulator keeps no State-wise record. Patients already have channels: a Pharma Jan Samadhan complaint portal, a Pharma Sahi Daam app (ceiling prices of 928 formulations and about 98,600 MRPs) and a helpline, 1800111255. Ceiling prices cover scheduled formulations only, so a high price on another medicine is not automatically an offence.
For non-scheduled medicines the lever is the trade margin, and the record is mixed
In 2019 the NPPA capped the trade margin at 30% on 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs. The Ministry's 2019 release estimated savings of at least ₹200 crore a year and counted 355 brands; the NPPA's 2026 meeting minutes, as reported, put the effect at up to 91% lower maximum retail prices across 526 brands and savings of about ₹984 crore a year, a discrepancy we cannot resolve. According to press reports, on 8 October 2026 the NPPA approved a 30% cap in principle on more non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, with estimated savings of about ₹2,500 crore. Reports also say a Gazette notification of 17 October 2026 caps margins on 137 drugs, with revised prices from 9 November 2026. Advocates note that patented medicines can stay expensive even with a margin cap. Provisional: the notification itself was not read.
The rule against freebies to doctors binds doctors more clearly than companies
Medical council rules bar doctors from accepting gifts, hospitality and similar benefits, with penalties up to removal from the register. The petitioners in a Supreme Court case argue there is no equally enforceable rule for the companies that offer them. The industry's Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices applies in the meantime; whether it is enforceable is disputed. According to reports of the order, on 8 October 2026 the Court directed the Union to constitute a committee to consider suggestions and representations and give recommendations, and listed the matter for 29 January 2027 for the Union's compliance affidavit. The Solicitor General had told the Court on 8 September 2026 that the committee would report within two months. Provisional: from press and law-site reports of the order.
Complaints about prescribers need a working board
Patients may complain to a State Medical Council and appeal to the National Medical Commission's Ethics and Medical Registration Board. An RTI reply reported on 4 October 2026 said the board received 360 complaints from January 2023 to August 2026 and was operating with one of its five members. The reported figures do not reconcile (57% of appeals rejected, 150 accepted, 74 pending), so we do not draw a rate from them. The report also says the NMC recommended action against 30 doctors accused of accepting pharma-funded trips, and that the Delhi High Court stayed disciplinary proceedings in August 2026. An allegation is not a finding. Provisional.
What this issue leaves out
Hospital billing and price display are in Issue #010; emergency treatment and officials' use of public hospitals are in Issue #006. We did not find national data on expired-medicine sales, referral commissions or unnecessary treatment, so this page makes no claim about their extent and asks for none to be assumed.
Samples failing quality, five years
| Year | Samples tested | Not of standard quality | Share | Spurious or adulterated | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | 84,874 | 2,652 | 3.1% | 263 | 0.3% |
| 2021–22 | 88,844 | 2,545 | 2.9% | 379 | 0.4% |
| 2022–23 | 96,713 | 3,053 | 3.2% | 424 | 0.4% |
| 2023–24 | 1,06,150 | 2,988 | 2.8% | 282 | 0.3% |
| 2024–25 | 1,16,323 | 3,104 | 2.7% | 245 | 0.2% |
Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, PIB, 24 March 2026 (verified). Shares are Aarunya's arithmetic (findings divided by samples tested) and are not market-wide rates; samples are not a random draw.
Overcharging notices: recovered and pending
Of 1,021 demand notices for overcharging issued by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, 430 had been recovered and 591 were pending.
- Recovered
- Pending
See the figures
| Notices | |
|---|---|
| Recovered | 430 notices |
| Pending | 591 notices |
Who does what
| Problem | Who acts | What we could and could not find |
|---|---|---|
| Unsafe or substandard medicine | State licensing authorities act on findings; CDSCO coordinates and inspects with States | Actions are reported only as totals |
| Overcharging | NPPA (Department of Pharmaceuticals) | Notices and recoveries; no State-wise record |
| Gifts and inducements | Medical councils act on doctors; a marketing code covers companies | Enforceability under review by a Supreme Court-ordered committee |
| Prescriber misconduct | State Medical Councils; the NMC ethics board on appeal | Board reported at one of five members |
Based on the sources in Facts & sources. We did not verify the statutory split of State and Union powers over drugs.
What is not known
This issue cannot say how many unsafe medicines are on sale, how many cases end in prosecution or conviction, how often overcharging occurs, how many complaints are filed or upheld, how many doctors take commissions, or how often expired medicines are sold. We found no national data on these. The demands ask that they be measured, not assumed.
The trade-off
Stricter testing adds cost, especially for small makers. Margin caps can reduce supply or quality and may not help patented drugs. Publishing named findings can harm a firm before a case is decided. Aarunya's demand is for published categories and outcomes, with appeals and final results shown, not for penalties beyond the law.
What we are asking for
- 1DEMAND 1 · One public register of what follows each finding. Publish a consolidated enforcement register: each not-of-standard-quality or spurious finding, the product and batch, the manufacturer, the action taken (notice, suspension, licence action, prosecution) and its status, aggregated State by State. Responsible: CDSCO with State Drug Controllers. Done when: a public register with defined categories is live for every State and updated at stated intervals, and shows time from finding to action.
- 2DEMAND 2 · Report on the excipient testing drive. Publish the results of the inspection round following the 27 October 2026 notices, including registration on the solvents monitoring system: oral-liquid makers inspected, makers found not testing each batch of raw materials and finished product, and action taken. Responsible: State licensing authorities with CDSCO. Done when: results are published State by State, along with the share of smaller makers that have met revised Schedule M (due 1 January 2026).
- 3DEMAND 3 · Recalls the public can follow. For every confirmed unsafe finding, publish a dated alert naming product, batch and manufacturer, and report recall completion. Responsible: CDSCO and State Drug Controllers. Done when: each confirmed finding has a dated public entry and the share of recalls reported complete is published.
- 4DEMAND 4 · Count the inspectors. Publish annually, by State and at CDSCO, sanctioned and filled drug-inspector posts and inspections per inspector, and fund vacancies. Responsible: State governments; the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for CDSCO. Done when: an annual public workforce table exists, and a vacancy target is adopted after the baseline is known (Aarunya's proposal).
- 5DEMAND 5 · Complete the overcharging record. Publish each year, for the price regulator, notices issued, amounts demanded, amounts recovered, age of pending cases and State-wise data. Responsible: NPPA and the Department of Pharmaceuticals. Done when: the yearly table includes amount demanded and State-wise data, and the oldest pending cases carry a published status.
- 6DEMAND 6 · Show the evidence behind trade-margin caps, and watch compliance. Publish an independent evaluation of the 2019 pilot's actual price changes, the notified list of drugs under the October 2026 cap, and compliance reports after the revised prices take effect on 9 November 2026. Responsible: the Department of Pharmaceuticals and NPPA. Done when: the evaluation, the notified list and the data used are public, the reported discrepancies in savings, brand and drug counts are explained, and compliance and overcharge deposits are reported.
- 7DEMAND 7 · Open the pharma-marketing review. Publish the Supreme Court-ordered committee's terms, membership, consultation record, report and the Union's response, and report annually on complaints under the marketing code. Responsible: the Department of Pharmaceuticals and the Union Government. Done when: the committee report and the Union's response are public in time for the Court's next listing (29 January 2027), and annual complaint and outcome totals are published.
- 8DEMAND 8 · Report on prescriber-misconduct complaints. Publish annually, by State Medical Council and for the National Medical Commission, complaints received by category (including inducements and commission), time to disposal and outcome, and fill vacancies on the ethics board. Responsible: the National Medical Commission and State Medical Councils. Done when: an annual public table with definitions exists and the ethics board is at full strength.
- 9DEMAND 9 · One page on where to complain. Publish, online and at pharmacies and hospitals, a plain-language guide to which authority handles a quality problem, a price problem and a prescriber problem, with response times. Responsible: State Drug Controllers, NPPA and State Medical Councils. Done when: the guide is displayed, and complaint volumes and response times are published. (NPPA's price channels already exist; the other two routes we could not verify.)
Facts & sources
Every number here is checkable
We link the source for each claim and record the date we last verified it. If you find something wrong, tell us and we will correct it in public.
Samples tested, declared not of standard quality, and declared spurious or adulterated were: 84,874 / 2,652 / 263 (2020–21); 88,844 / 2,545 / 379 (2021–22); 96,713 / 3,053 / 424 (2022–23); 1,06,150 / 2,988 / 282 (2023–24); 1,16,323 / 3,104 / 245 (2024–25).
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, written reply in Rajya Sabha; PIB, 24 March 2026 · parliamentary record · verified 2026-10-29
Verified
Figures are as received from States and UTs. They count samples, not products or market share. The reply does not say how samples are chosen.
CDSCO and State Drug Controllers conducted risk-based inspections of more than 960 premises since December 2022; more than 860 actions followed (show-cause notices, stop-production orders, suspensions, cancellations, warning letters). Over 1,100 cough-syrup makers and 380 blood centres were audited. Revised Schedule M applies to makers with turnover above ₹250 crore from 29 June 2024 and below ₹250 crore from 1 January 2026.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; PIB, 24 March 2026 · parliamentary record · verified 2026-10-29
Verified
Actions are regulatory, not convictions. The reply does not say which actions led to prosecution, or the outcome of any.
Between FY 2015–16 and 30 September 2025, the NPPA issued 1,021 demand notices for overcharging; 430 have been recovered (₹13,860.93 lakh) and 591 are pending, including 107 issued in 2015–16.
Department of Pharmaceuticals, written reply in Lok Sabha; PIB, 20 March 2026 · parliamentary record · verified 2026-10-29
Verified
The amount demanded is not given, so a recovery rate cannot be computed. Pending is not a finding of default.
The NPPA does not maintain a State-wise record of overcharging. Consumers can use Pharma Jan Samadhan, the Pharma Sahi Daam app (ceiling prices of 928 formulations, MRP of about 98,600 medicines), CPGRAMS, helpline 1800111255, or email.
Department of Pharmaceuticals; PIB, 20 March 2026 · parliamentary record · verified 2026-10-29
Verified
The reply says monitoring is ongoing and no time limit can be set. It gives no complaint volumes or response times.
The Drugs Rules were amended in 2023 to require bar or QR codes on the top 300 brands. A June 2026 amendment brings all vaccines, narcotic and psychotropic drugs and anti-cancer drugs under the QR-code framework from 1 July 2027, and antimicrobials from 1 July 2028, with nine data elements per code.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; PIB, 25 June 2026 · government document · verified 2026-10-29
Verified
A notified requirement, not evidence of compliance. The dates are phased in the future.
At least 24 children, mostly under five, died in Madhya Pradesh after taking Coldrif cough syrup; one tested sample reportedly contained 48.6% diethylene glycol against a 0.1% permitted impurity limit. Tamil Nadu found Coldrif samples not of standard quality on 2 October 2025 and revoked the maker's manufacturing licence; arrests followed; the WHO issued an alert naming three syrups.
The Tribune (PTI), 15 October 2025 · media report · verified 2026-10-29
Provisional
Death counts differ across reports. Prosecutions are pending; this page makes no finding against any individual or company. Primary lab and regulatory documents were not read.
In a notice dated 27 October 2026 (F. No. DC-DT-15011(11)/144/2025-eoffice), the Drugs Controller General (India) told all State and UT Drug Controllers that it is a statutory requirement under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules for a licensee to test each batch or lot of raw material, including critical excipients like propylene glycol, glycerol and sorbitol, and each batch of the final product, and to keep records as specified in Schedule U. It asked them to direct manufacturers to ensure mandatory testing and to implement robust vendor qualification. It continues a letter of 7 October 2025, which recorded that inspections and investigations of drugs declared not of standard quality had observed manufacturers not testing each batch of excipients and active ingredients.
CDSCO, notice of 27 October 2026 and letter of 7 October 2025 · government document · verified 2026-10-29
Verified
Neither letter says how many makers were non-compliant. The 2025 observation came from inspections of facilities whose drugs had been declared not of standard quality; it is not a finding about all makers. The notice is a direction to State regulators, not evidence of compliance.
In a second notice dated 27 October 2026 (F. No. IT/ONDLS/MFG/Exp/2025/003), continuing an earlier communication of 22 October 2025, the Drugs Controller General asked State and UT Drug Controllers to direct all manufacturers and vendors or suppliers of pharmaceutical-grade high-risk solvents such as propylene glycol, glycerine and sorbitol to register on the Online National Drug Licensing System (ONDLS) portal and upload batch-wise data (quantities, certificates of analysis, vendor credentials and onward distribution), and said no batch of these solvents should be distributed without uploading the details and obtaining a system-generated NOC.
CDSCO, notice of 27 October 2026 on the Digital Monitoring System · government document · verified 2026-10-29
Verified
A requirement set out in a notice. We found no data on how many manufacturers and suppliers have registered or how the system has performed.
A CDSCO reply under the Right to Information Act dated 27 October 2025 gave sanctioned drug-inspector posts as 419 (regulatory) and 85 (medical devices), with 187 and 63 vacant respectively, nearly 250 in all.
Medical Dialogues, November 2025 · media report · verified 2026-10-29
Provisional
A news report of an RTI reply; we did not see the reply. Vacancies may have changed since. We found no national table of State inspector strength.
The Supreme Court directed the Union on 8 October 2026 to constitute a committee on unethical pharma marketing practices, in Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Associations of India v. Union of India (W.P.(C) 323/2021). The recorded direction is that the committee will consider the suggestions and representations and give its recommendations to the Union; the matter is listed on 29 January for the Union's compliance affidavit. The Solicitor General had told the Court on 8 September 2026 that the committee would report within two months and that the marketing code would apply meanwhile.
LiveLaw, 8 October 2026; LawChakra, 8 October 2026 · court record · verified 2026-10-29
Provisional
Reports of the order; we did not read the order text. An interim direction to form a committee is not a finding on any company or doctor.
The Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices applies to pharmaceutical companies in the meantime, according to the Centre's submission; the petitioners say it is voluntary and unenforceable, and the Court questioned whether enforcement can be judged from the existence of norms. In Apex Laboratories v. Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (2022) the Supreme Court described a 'publicly injurious cycle' linking company gifts to doctors' practices.
LawChakra, 8 October 2026 · court record · verified 2026-10-29
Unresolved
Sources differ on the code's year and force. The Apex Laboratories judgment concerned tax and is not a general pharma-marketing law; the judgment itself was not opened.
Regulation 6.4 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 prohibits fee splitting; the 2002 Regulations allow a medical council to remove a practitioner from the register for misconduct. The National Medical Commission's 2023 conduct regulations were kept in abeyance by a Gazette notification.
The Tribune, 4 October 2026; Verdictum, 8 October 2026; India TV News, 6 August 2026 · institutional document · verified 2026-10-29
Provisional
Taken from press reports; we did not read the Regulations or the Gazette. Confirm which version is in force from the Gazette.
An RTI reply reported on 4 October 2026 said the NMC's Ethics and Medical Registration Board received 360 complaints from January 2023 to August 2026, accepted 150 appeals, had 74 pending, and was operating with one of its five members.
The Tribune, 4 October 2026 · media report · verified 2026-10-29
Provisional
The 57% rejection figure the report gives does not reconcile with the other counts (complaints and appeals are not clearly distinguished). Do not compute a rate. A complaint is not proof of misconduct.
The Tribune reports that the NMC recommended action against 30 doctors accused of accepting pharma-funded foreign trips, and that the Delhi High Court stayed disciplinary proceedings in August 2026.
The Tribune, 4 October 2026 · media report · verified 2026-10-29
Unresolved
An allegation, stayed by a court. No finding is made, and no doctor is named.
On 28 February 2019 the Ministry released the NPPA's decision (meeting of 26 February 2019, Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order 2013) to cap trade margins at 30% of MRP on 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, covering 72 formulations and 355 brands, and estimated savings of at least ₹200 crore a year. NPPA's 2026 meeting minutes, as reported, cite price cuts up to 91% for 526 brands and savings of about ₹984 crore a year.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, PIB, 28 February 2019; Outlook India, 10 October 2026 · government document · verified 2026-10-29
Unresolved
The 2019 release is verified. The later figures differ from it (355 and 526 brands; ₹200 crore and ₹984 crore) and none is an audited outcome.
At its 151st meeting on 8 October 2026 the NPPA approved in principle a 30% trade-margin cap on identified non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, with estimated annual savings of about ₹2,500 crore; its analysis reportedly found average mark-ups of about 170% and up to 700%. Reports say a Gazette notification of 17 October 2026 caps trade margins on 137 such drugs at 30% of MRP, with revised prices from 9 November 2026.
Outlook India, 10 October 2026; News On AIR, 19 October 2026 · media report · verified 2026-10-29
Provisional
The notification itself was not read; News On AIR and Business Today report it consistently. Reports differ on whether the 30% cap is before or plus applicable GST. Savings are estimates. Advocates note that patented drugs may remain unaffordable. Earlier reports gave 110 as the number of drugs.
On 6 August 2026 a Rajya Sabha member said that informal 'referral commission' arrangements between doctors and diagnostic centres are entrenched in parts of the sector, and referred to the 2002 rule against fee splitting.
India TV News, 6 August 2026 · media report · verified 2026-10-29
Unresolved
A statement in Parliament, not a finding. We found no public enforcement data on referral commissions and make no claim about prevalence.
Questions
What exactly are you asking for?+
Nine things. A public register of what follows each unsafe-medicine finding; a report on the batch-testing drive; recall alerts; a count of drug inspectors; a complete overcharging record; evidence behind trade-margin caps; an open review of pharma marketing; annual data on prescriber-misconduct complaints; and one page saying where to complain.
Is this already public?+
Partly. The testing and overcharging totals are in answers to Parliament. What we could not find is a consolidated public record of what happens after each finding, State-wise price data, or complaint outcomes.
Are you saying Indian medicines are unsafe?+
No. About 2.7% of samples tested in 2024–25 were found not of standard quality, but samples are not a random draw and this is not a market-wide rate. The Coldrif deaths show why one failure matters, not how common failures are.
Are you accusing drug companies or doctors of a racket?+
No. We make no allegation against any company, doctor or official. Allegations raised elsewhere are labelled as allegations, and a complaint, notice or stay is not a finding.
Why does the page cite media for so many items?+
Because several primary documents (the Supreme Court order texts and the Gazette notification on margins) were not available to us to read in full. Those items are marked provisional. The two CDSCO notices of 27 October 2026 were available and we read them.
Will price caps make medicines unavailable?+
That is a real risk. Margin caps can reduce supply or quality if set badly, and caps may not help patented drugs. This is why Demand 6 asks for an independent evaluation and compliance reporting, not for a particular cap.
Will stricter testing hurt small manufacturers?+
It can add cost, especially for small makers moving to revised Schedule M. The demand is for transparent enforcement of rules that already exist, not new burdens.
How is this different from Issues #006 and #010?+
Issue #006 is about officials using public hospitals and emergency care. Issue #010 is about hospital prices, bills and patient rights. This issue is about medicines: their safety, prices and promotion.
What should I do if I suspect a bad or overpriced medicine?+
For price, the NPPA's channels exist: the Pharma Jan Samadhan portal, the Pharma Sahi Daam app, and helpline 1800111255. For quality and for prescriber conduct, we have not verified a single State-wise route, so we do not give one yet; Demand 9 asks for it. Keep the packaging and the bill.
Where this stands
The whole process, in public
We publish each step as it happens — including the steps where nothing happens.
NPPA caps trade margins on 42 anti-cancer drugs
26 February 2019A 30% cap on non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, announced by the Ministry on 28 February 2019.
Source: Press Information Bureau
Revised Schedule M applies to larger makers
29 June 2024Good manufacturing practice requirements for makers with turnover above ₹250 crore.
Source: Press Information Bureau
Child deaths linked to Coldrif cough syrup (reported)
October 2025Press reports say at least 24 children, mostly under five, died in Madhya Pradesh and the maker's licence was revoked. Counts differ across reports.
Source: The Tribune
CDSCO writes to States on testing of excipients
7 October 2025The letter records that inspections observed manufacturers not testing each batch of excipients and active ingredients, and asks States to ensure testing and vendor qualification.
Source: CDSCO
Revised Schedule M applies to smaller makers
1 January 2026The same requirements for makers with turnover below ₹250 crore.
Source: Press Information Bureau
QR-code traceability extended
25 June 2026Vaccines, narcotic and psychotropic drugs and anti-cancer drugs to follow from 1 July 2027, antimicrobials from 1 July 2028.
Source: Press Information Bureau
Supreme Court orders a pharma-marketing committee (reported)
8 October 2026As reported: the Court directs the Union to constitute a committee and lists the matter for 29 January for the compliance affidavit. The order text was not read.
Source: LiveLaw
Margin cap notified on 137 anti-cancer drugs (reported)
17 October 2026The NPPA had approved the cap in principle on 8 October. The Gazette notification was not read.
Source: News On AIR
CDSCO writes to States on batch testing and a solvents monitoring system
27 October 2026Notices dated 27 October 2026, continuing letters of 7 and 22 October 2025. We read the notices on CDSCO's website.
Source: CDSCO
Revised prices on 137 drugs take effect (reported)
9 November 2026As notified, per reports. Compliance is not yet known.
Source: News On AIR
Supreme Court to consider the Union's compliance affidavit
29 January 2027The date the Court listed the pharma-marketing matter.
Source: LiveLaw
QR codes required on vaccines, narcotic and anti-cancer drugs
1 July 2027Antimicrobials follow on 1 July 2028.
Source: Press Information Bureau
What this issue does not claim
It does not claim that most medicines are unsafe, that any company, doctor or official has committed an offence, that referral commissions or freebies are widespread, or that price caps will make medicines affordable. A complaint, notice, arrest, stay or in-principle approval is not a finding or final result. The demands are commitments Aarunya Swaraj Party will advocate for; they are not existing law or legal requirements.
Who is behind this
Aarunya Issues is an initiative of Aarunya Swaraj Party, being built by students who believe that public problems deserve evidence, accountability and action.
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