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The Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC), the advisory committee that advises the Central and state governments on matters related to uniform implementation of the drugs regulations, has recommended a real-time digital portal with tracking mechanism to monitor drugs regulated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The Committee, which looked into a proposal for development of a real-time digital portal for tracking pharma products regulated under the NDPS Act, discussed the need for a centralized, real-time, end-to-end digital tracking mechanism for manufacture, import/export, sale/distribution, stock etc of pharmaceutical products regulated under the NDPS Act.
It also discussed about the proposed scope of the digital portal, key functional features, regulatory and legal considerations, role of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and State Drug Regulatory Authorities, implementation strategy and its anticipated benefits.
"After detailed deliberation, DCC approved the proposal," said the minutes of the meeting held on March 20, 2026.
"It was further opined that a meeting of CDSCO may be held with CBN on the matter, as CBN (Central Bureau of Narcotics) presently maintains a portal for the manufacturing units," said the Committee.
"DCC also recommended that once this portal is developed, access may be provided to all the concerned agencies for effective surveillance and monitoring," it added.
The DCC, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), and the ministry of health and family welfare has been working on bringing in rules to track NDPS drugs which are monitored under the Act, including by mandating Quick Response (QR) codes for these drugs, along with all vaccines and antimicrobials.
The Ministry in October, last year, proposed an amendment to the Drugs Rules, 1945, to mandate QR code for these drugs, to prevent counterfeiting and enhance the traceability, quality and safety of medications. A draft has been released in line with the recommendations of the Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) and the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) in its previous meetings.
It proposed to title the existing list of 300 brands in the Schedule H2, the category of medicines which are mandated to carry a barcode or QR code on their label, under the Drugs Rules as Table I and to insert a Table 2 to include all vaccines, antimicrobials, narcotic and psychotropic drugs, and anticancer drugs under the Schedule.
DCC, in its meeting held on June 17, 2025, greed to the proposal for amendment of the Drugs Rules, to fix QR code on the labels of these products.
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