81 drug samples fail quality tests in Rajasthan; 65 pharmacies under scrutiny

Rajasthan Food Safety and Drug Control Commission’s internal report said that of the 4,125 drug samples collected till September 30 in FY 2025–26, 81 did not meet quality standards

Jaipur: At least 81 drug samples, including commonly used antibiotics, paracetamols, and medicines for cardiac and liver ailments, have failed quality tests till September, according to an internal report by the Rajasthan Food Safety and Drug Control Commission (FSDCC).

168 samples had failed similar tests in FY 2024–25 from a total of 5,607 samples collected during inspections of pharmaceutical manufacturing units. (Representative photo)

The report said that of the 4,125 drug samples collected till September 30 in the Financial Year (FY) 2025–26, 81 did not meet quality standards, while 168 samples had failed similar tests in FY 2024–25 from a total of 5,607 samples collected during inspections of pharmaceutical manufacturing units.

“After the recent deaths of three children, we have collected six samples of the Dextromethorphan cough syrup — but all of them cleared poor tests. We have also collected samples of many other cough syrups for a test now — a result of which is yet to come. However, a specific figure of those samples is not available immediately,” commissioner T. Shubhmangla said.

Drug control officials said that these cough syrups were majorly being manufactured in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

“Following the development, we have instructed all the medicine distributors to get any drugs, including cough syrups, which are being supplied by any manufacturer from outside Rajasthan, tested by the RMSCL before selling them in the market,” state drug controller Ajay Phatak said.

Phatak added that at least 65 pharmacies are currently under the department’s lens for either supplying spurious, contaminated, or adulterated drugs in the market.

“Products from these companies have failed to qualify the tests many times in the recent year, and therefore, we are launching a thorough probe into their conduct and overall manufacturing process. Necessary action will be taken if any major violation is found,” he said.

A further classification of the manufacturers of the 81 failed drug samples also revealed that the maximum — 18 samples — from a Solan-based manufacturer in Himachal Pradesh failed the tests, followed by 13 from Rajasthan, 11 from manufacturers based in Uttarakhand, four from Gujarat, three each from Punjab, Sikkim, and Haryana, and two each from Bengaluru, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu, along with one from Chhattisgarh.

“Every district unit of FSDCC was given a target to visit at least 20 pharma companies in the state monthly for inspection, collect samples if found suspicious, and send them for testing in our official laboratory in Jaipur’s Sethi Colony. The failed samples of the drugs could be categorised in three types — adulterated, manufactured in unhygienic places, and ones with absence of necessary compositions,” said Phatak.