India, June 16 -- Amid drug quality and patient safety concerns, the Union Health Ministry has amended rules to prohibit the sale of syrups, including cough syrups, without a doctor's prescription.

The move is aimed at bringing syrup-based formulations under stricter regulatory oversight and comes amid heightened scrutiny of liquid oral medicines following reports of contamination-linked child deaths in several countries.

The amendment has been notified through the Drugs (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2026, and came into force immediately upon publication in the official gazette on June 15.

Under the amendment, the word "syrups" has been omitted from Item 7 in the "Class of Drugs" column of Schedule K of the Drugs Rules, 1945.

Schedule K sp...