Parl Sub-Committee On E-Pharmacies Recommends Setting Up Of National Portal To Monitor Online Sale Of Drugs

The government is planning to allow online sale of drugs with certain riders. Recommendations submitted by the sub-committee set up to deliberate on the matter has proposed setting up of a national portal to act as a nodal platform entrusted with regulating online sale of drugs. The government also intends to ban online sale of certain categories of drugs that are prone to be misused.

Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare) Sh. Faggan Singh Kulaste stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. He said the sub-committee was constituted by the Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) to examine issues relating to online sale of drugs.

Kulsate said the committee spelt out the necessity of evolving a mechanism to register e-pharmacies, along with restricting their operations geographically. It was suggested that existing licencees involved in retail sale of drugs could also register on the national portal for carrying out online sale of drugs.

He said the panel recommended that certain categories of drugs, which are prone to be misused, such as narcotic and psychotropic drugs, tranquilizers, habit-forming drugs and Schedule X drugs, should be excluded from sale through e-pharmacies.

The minister further clarified that all matters, relating to sale of drugs including through online would continue to be regulated in accordance with the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, as amended from time to time.

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