Anupriya Patel, the Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, stated on Tuesday that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has not prohibited the widely used medication paracetamol in India.

“The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has informed that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization is not in receipt of information about rumours” of the regulatory agency banning paracetamol, Patel stated in a response in the Parliament during the current Monsoon session.

“Many Fixed Dose Combinations, including such combinations of paracetamol with other drugs, have been banned in the country,” Patel stated, adding that “paracetamol is not banned in the country.”

The MoS also mentioned that the National Health Mission’s free drug service program has been launched by the government.

“This is intended to guarantee the supply of necessary medications and lower the out-of-pocket costs for patients who visit public health facilities, such as government hospitals and rural primary health centers,” she continued.

The states receive financial assistance for the free distribution of necessary medications at public health institutions.

The Drugs and Vaccine Distribution Management System (DVDMS), an information technology-enabled platform, is used to monitor the real status of procurement and the availability of essential medicines. Support is also available for the procurement of drugs, the strengthening or establishment of strong systems of procurement, quality assurance, supply chain management and warehousing, prescription audit, and grievance redressal.

According to Patel, the Ministry of Health has also suggested that public healthcare facilities, such as government hospitals and rural primary health centers, make an essential medications list available by facility.

“There is flexibility for States to add more medications to the recommended Essential Medicines List, which consists of 106, 172, 300, 318, and 381 medications for Sub Health Centers, Primary Health Centers, Community Health Centers, and Sub-District Hospitals, respectively,” she said.

The Medical Stores Organization (MSO) and Government Medical Store Depots (GMSDs) have active rate contracts for 697 drug formulations to guarantee a continuous supply chain of necessary medications in government hospitals and rural health facilities.

“MSO has 1,152 registered indenters throughout India, including government hospitals and rural primary health centers. During a fiscal year, they can use the MSO-DVDMS application software to request drug supplies from MSO/GMSDs four times,” Patel stated.