Rajasthan Medical Services Corp Bans 7 Pharma Firms, 40 Drugs Over Quality Concerns
Jaipur: In a major crackdown on poor-quality drugs, the Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation (RMSC) has banned seven pharmaceutical firms and 40 medicines in 2025, the highest number of debarments recorded since its inception, according to a report by NDTV.
The action was initiated after multiple drug batches supplied under the Chief Minister’s Free Medicine Scheme failed quality tests, prompting the Medical and Health Department to enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy against substandard medicines.
Medical and Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khinvsar stated that providing only safe and standard-quality medicines remains the government’s foremost priority, even while ensuring uninterrupted supply under the free-medicine programme. Principal Secretary Gayatri Rathore highlighted that while only 26 companies were banned between 2011–12 and 2024–25, this financial year alone seven firms have been debarred, and penalties have been imposed in six additional cases, reflecting the tightened quality surveillance measures. RMSC has set up a multi-layer quality-control mechanism in which all procured medicines are first quarantined at district drug stores.
Every batch is tested in RMSC-authorised laboratories, and only those that pass are released through the integrated e-medicine software. When a sample fails the initial test, it is rechecked at the State Drug Testing Laboratory, while the Drug Controller collects independent samples to verify results. District drug control officers also routinely collect random samples to maintain continuous oversight. Once a medicine is confirmed as substandard, the case is reviewed by a Disciplinary Committee, which gives the manufacturer an opportunity to respond before recommending penalties, temporary bans or debarment.
This year, five companies have been banned for five years, including M/s Aryen (Arien) Healthcare for Ciprofloxacin and Dexamethasone eye/ear drops; Agron Remedies Pvt. Ltd for Cefuroxime Axetil Tablets and Tobramycin Eye Drops; Effi Parenterals for Calcium + Vitamin D3 Tablets; Jpee Drugs for Calcium + Vitamin D3 Suspension; and Sai Parenterals Ltd for Heparin Sodium Injection. Two more companies—Biogenetic Drugs Pvt. Ltd and Smilex Healthcare Drug Company—have been banned for three years for violating service conditions. The list of 40 medicines banned this year includes Primaquine Tablets (from Maxwell Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd and Scott Edil Pharmacia Ltd), Heparin Sodium Injection and Calcium & Vitamin D3 Suspension (from Yakka Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd, which has also been banned for three years), Fexofenadine Tablets (from Santlife Pharmaceuticals Ltd), Levetiracetam Tablets and several others, as detailed in the NDTV report.
