New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- Two major instances of counterfeit life-saving drugs being uncovered in the past two weeks have raised concern among consumers. Industry executives say counterfeiting is a growing challenge, with fake drugs becoming harder to detect even as authorities try to crack the networks. Mint explains what is driving the problem, its impact on consumers and the regulatory response.

On 13 September, a special investigation team of Bengaluru police and the drugs control department uncovered a large counterfeit medicine racket suspected of supplying fake cancer drugs, ICU injections and other life-saving medicines to more than 90 hospitals and clinics at discounts of about 50%.

A week earlier, media outlets reported that the ...