India is known as the “pharmacy of the world” and its pharmaceutical exports are set to more than double in the last decade to $24.5 billion in 2021-22. That image has been tarnished by the deaths of at least 70 children in the Gambia and 19 in Uzbekistan last year.
Government data shared by Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday showed that of nearly 89,000 drug samples tested by states and territories in 2021-22, more than 2,500 did not meet standards and close to 380 were found to be spurious or adulterated. were declared.
Mandaviya said the federal government has allocated funds to his ministry for measures including setting up of new drug testing laboratories and upgrading existing laboratories.
“The government has taken several regulatory measures to ensure the quality of drugs in the country,” he said in a written reply to a question in Parliament.