India Orders Crackdown On Illegal Drug Imports, Steps Up Surveillance

Published 26 June 2026 · india

India Orders Crackdown On Illegal Drug Imports, Steps Up Surveillance Reported By, Last Updated: June 26, 2026, 08:26 IST The crackdown follows concerns that unapproved

India Orders Crackdown On Illegal Drug Imports, Steps Up Surveillance Reported By, Last Updated: June 26, 2026, 08:26 IST The crackdown follows concerns that unapproved medicines are entering India from neighbouring countries through unauthorised routes. The advisory comes amid growing global concern over substandard, falsified and unlicensed medicines entering legitimate supply chains through illegal channels. (Representational image) Amid concerns over the illegal entry of unapproved and unlicensed medicines into India, the country’s apex drug regulatory agency has directed all state and Union Territory drug controllers, along with its zonal, sub-zonal and port offices, to step up surveillance across the pharmaceutical supply chain, News18 has learnt. In an advisory circular issued by the enforcement division of the Directorate General of Health Services on June 22, the national drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), said concerns had been raised over medicines entering the domestic supply chain through unauthorised channels from neighbouring countries. The circular, seen by News18, states: “The concerns have been raised regarding the illegal entry of certain unapproved and unlicensed drug products into the domestic supply chain through unauthorised channels from neighbouring countries." The CDSCO circular does not name any country or specific incident.

However, it further notes: “The Ministry has highlighted the potential public health and patient safety risks arising from the import, distribution, storage, sale and marketing of such products without obtaining requisite approvals, permissions or licences under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules made thereunder." To emphasise the urgency of the move, the circular, written by the Drug Controller General of India, Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, concludes that the matter may be “accorded utmost priority in the interest of safeguarding public health". The advisory comes amid growing global concern over substandard, falsified and unlicensed medicines entering legitimate supply chains through illegal channels. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that at least one in 10 medicines in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified, posing risks of treatment failure, toxicity and antimicrobial resistance. Focus on border areas, warehouses and courier hubs The regulator has instructed authorities to strengthen surveillance mechanisms in their jurisdictions, with particular attention to vulnerable locations. Particular emphasis has been “placed on border regions, coastal areas, transit points, warehouses, courier facilities, logistics hubs and other vulnerable locations that may be susceptible to the illegal movement of unapproved and unlicensed drug products".