New Delhi, June 25 -- The Centre has expanded its pharmaceutical track-and-trace system to cover all anti-cancer medicines, vaccines, antimicrobials, and narcotic and psychotropic drugs, in a move aimed at strengthening oversight of medicines and curbing the circulation of counterfeit products.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has amended the Drugs Rules, 1945, bringing these categories under Schedule H2, which mandates the use of barcodes or Quick Response (QR) codes on medicine packs. The notification, announced on Thursday, broadens a system that was previously limited to the country's top 300 pharmaceutical brands.
Under the revised rules, manufacturers will be required to print or affix a barcode or QR code on the primary pa...