Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized medicine stock worth approximately Rs 19.11 crore and carried out 1,144 regulatory actions between June and September, in a sharp escalation of inspections targeting drug manufacturers and sellers across the state.
According to a report by Lokmat – Pune, the FDA conducted 4,256 inspections during the four-month period. It also carried out 115 search and seizure operations, registered 33 cases and arrested 14 people in connection with the enforcement action.
The inspection drive marked a substantial increase over April and May. During those two months, the FDA conducted 120 inspections at drug manufacturing establishments and 347 inspections at sales establishments, taking the monthly average to 234 inspections. Between June and September, inspections rose to 965 at manufacturing units and 3,291 at sales establishments, taking the monthly average to 1,064.
The increase was approximately four times for manufacturing establishments and 4.7 times for sales establishments, according to the report. The figures indicate that the enforcement effort focused more heavily on the distribution and retail side of the medicine supply chain, where unauthorised stock and sales can directly affect patients and consumers.
Regulatory action also increased during the period. In April and May, the FDA reported 71 actions against manufacturing establishments and 366 against sales establishments, for a combined total of 437. That number rose to 1,144 between June and September. The administration issued 1,402 notices, cancelled 288 licences and suspended 856 licences during the four-month period.
The reported violations covered several categories. Forty-three actions related to unauthorised medicine stock and sales, while 31 concerned objectionable advertisements. The FDA also acted in 14 cases involving counterfeit medicines and cosmetics, and 10 cases involving cosmetics with incorrect branding. Other actions included nine cases under laws covering narcotic and psychotropic substances, three involving medical devices, three concerning similar brand names and two involving violations of labelling rules.
The enforcement pattern places medicine licensing, product identity and supply-chain compliance at the centre of the state’s drug-safety system. Licence cancellation and suspension are administrative measures that can remove or restrict establishments from the regulated market, while the registered cases and arrests represent the criminal proceedings reported during the same period.
The report did not provide establishment-wise details, district-level figures, the names of the seized products or the reasons behind each individual licence action. The FDA’s next steps, including proceedings linked to the notices and the status of the registered cases, will determine how the latest enforcement drive translates into continuing oversight of medicine manufacturers and sellers across Maharashtra.
