Anganwadi Workers, Community Health Officers at Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres now under Schedule K of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules

New Delhi: Anganwadi Workers and Community Health Officers at Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres are now allowed to supply certain medicines to the patients, as they have been included in Section 23 of Schedule K of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.

The confirmation of this notice has recently been given in the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As per Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Schedule K specifies those drugs which are be exempted from the provisions of Chapter IV of the Act and the Rules made thereunder to the extent and subject to the conditions specified in that Schedule."

Schedule K of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act includes various substances and drugs and their corresponding regulation of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. It stated, "The drugs specified in Schedule K shall be exempted from the provisions of Chapter IV of the Act and the Rules made thereunder to the extent and subject to the conditions specified in that Schedule."

Section 23 of Schedule K of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, brings under Schedule K the , "Drugs supplied by ( i ) Multipurpose Workers attached to Primary Health Centres/Sub- Centres, (ii) Community Health Volunteers under the Rural Health Scheme, (iii) Nurses, Auxiliary Nurses, Midwives and Lady Health Visitors attached to Urban Family Welfare Centres/Primary Health Centres/SubCentres and 41[(iv) Anganwadi Workers]."

Under this section, above-mentioned people are exempted from the provisions of Chapter IV of the Act and Rules thereunder, which require them to be covered by a sale licence, provided the drugs are supplied under the Health or Family Welfare Programme of the Central or State Government.

Now, with the recent gazette, the government has also added Anganwadi Workers and Community Health Officers at Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres to this list. The gazette notification stated 

In the current Gazette notification the Central Government, after consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, has made the rules to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, which stated, "In the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, in Schedule K, against serial number 23, in the entries under the column "Class of Drugs", for the words, brackets and figures "and (iv) Anganwadi Workers", the following words, brackets, and figures shall be substituted, namely:―
"(iv) Anganwadi Workers; and (v) Community Health Officers at Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres.''.