Archive · 16 Jan 2026
Budget to Boost Drug Testing Labs and Regulatory Manpower
The Indian government is planning to set up new drug testing labs and hire more people to check the quality of medicines in the upcoming budget.
This is because there have been some problems with the quality of medicines made in India, which have caused health issues and deaths in some countries.
The government wants to make sure that the medicines made in India are safe and meet international standards.
They also want to fill the empty positions of drug inspectors and make sure that the labs have enough staff.
Experts say this is important to protect people's health and the reputation of India's pharmaceutical industry.
Government plans to set up new drug testing laboratories and increase regulatory manpower in the upcoming Union budget.
The move aims to tighten oversight of India's $60-billion pharmaceutical industry, which supplies nearly a fifth of the world's generic medicines.
Persistent quality issues in drug exports have led to increased global scrutiny and economic losses.
Currently, there are seven Central Drug Testing Laboratories and 35 state government laboratories, with 2,283 drug inspectors in total.
The government's plan involves extending the Strengthening of States’ Drug Regulatory System (SSDRS) scheme for the next five years till FY31.
- Who
- Indian government, state governments, Union territories, health experts, pharmaceutical industry
- What
- Proposed budget allocation for new drug testing laboratories and increased regulatory manpower
- When
- Upcoming Union budget for FY27 on 1 February
- Where
- India
- Why
- To tighten oversight of the pharmaceutical industry and address quality issues in drug exports
- Current Central Drug Testing Laboratories
- 7
- State Government Laboratories
- 35
- Total Drug Inspectors
- 2,283
- Vacant Drug Inspector Posts
- 249
- SSDRS Scheme Allocation
- ₹850 crore
- Scheme Extension Period
- 5 years (till FY31)
- Total Drug Samples Tested in FY25
- 116,323
- NSQ Samples in FY25
- 3,104
- Spurious and Adulterated Samples in FY25
- 245