Nadda: Over 3,000 drug samples substandard in 2024-25

• Union Health Minister J P Nadda reported over 3,000 drug samples were not of standard quality in 2024-25, with similar figures in previous years, and hundreds found spurious or adulterated annually.
• CDSCO, with state regulators, conducted risk-based inspections of over 960 drug manufacturing firms since Dec 2022, leading to more than 860 actions like warnings and license cancellations.
• The CDSCO website publishes a 'Drug Alert' list of non-standard, spurious, or adulterated drugs, along with actions taken.
• The Ministry of Health implemented the 'Strengthening of States’ Drug Regulatory System' scheme, releasing Rs 756 crore to states/UTs, constructing 17 new labs, and upgrading 24 existing ones.

Why It Matters: Drug quality failures mean your medicines might be unsafe.