In response to the alarming spread of counterfeit medicines across India, regulators have urged NITI Aayog to establish a dedicated Enforcement Task Force to combat this growing menace. The proposal, spearheaded by Jharkhand’s Joint Drug Controller, calls for urgent structural reforms, advanced tracking systems, and coordinated crackdowns to protect public health and pharmaceutical integrity.

Key highlights
Proposal for national task force

• A formal proposal submitted to NITI Aayog suggests creating a Task Force led by a senior IPS officer or Intelligence Bureau official.

• Team to include technologically skilled young drug inspectors to enhance enforcement capabilities.

Sharp rise in counterfeit medicines

• A survey by SK Tiwari reports a 50% increase in counterfeit drugs, including widely-used brands like PAN-D and Levipil 500.

• Fake QR codes and spurious drug networks uncovered in 11 states including Delhi, Maharashtra, UP, Gujarat, Telangana, and Odisha.

Call for stronger enforcement and staffing

• Regulatory teams across states have intensified operations and raids to dismantle drug counterfeiting networks.

• Tiwari stresses the need to recruit and train more drug inspectors to address enforcement gaps.

Push for QR code-based verification

• Recommendation to mandate secure QR codes on all drug packages, linking to a national database for real-time authentication.

• Suggests extending traceability to APIs, excipients, and drug manufacturing machinery.

Central-state collaboration

• Proposal emphasizes coordination between CDSCO and state drug control departments for comprehensive surveillance.

• Urges modern policy reforms that go beyond Schedule M standards to address loopholes.

Public awareness and reporting

• Recommends launching a national awareness campaign to educate consumers and pharmacists about detecting and reporting fake medicines.

As counterfeit drug rackets grow in sophistication and scale, India’s drug regulators are calling for an equally robust and modernized response. The proposed Enforcement Task Force, powered by policy reforms and digital traceability, could become a critical shield in protecting India’s medicine supply chain.