Certain contraceptive pills will continue to be available without prescription: CDSCO sources
New Delhi, Oct 13: There is no change in the rules governing the sale and distribution of emergency contraceptive pill brands like i-Pill or Unwanted 72 and they will continue to be available without a prescription, official sources from national drug controlling authority CDSCO said on Friday.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO) sources said that certain media reports have misinterpreted proposal for change in rules regarding prescription requirement for hormonal contraceptives governed by Schedule H and K of Drug Rules.
There is no change in the status quo regarding the over-the-counter sales and distribution of Emergency Contraceptive Pill (ECP) brands like i-Pill or Unwanted 72, an official source said.
Presently, the contraceptive drugs i.e. Centchroman and Ethinyloestradiol are under Schedule H of Drugs Rules, meaning that they can be sold on the doctor's prescription only.
Also, for manufacturers, they will be required to mention caution on the label as "to be sold by retail on the prescription of Registered Medical Practitioner only".
However, certain strengths of these drugs are also covered in Schedule 'K' of Drugs Rules, meaning that these specific strengths do not need any prescription from a doctor for purchase.
"The strengths as defined in Schedule K, will be available without prescription, as it is available today. And all other remaining strengths will need a prescription, as it is required today," the official source said.
"The proposed amendment in the Drug Rules, whereby a clarifying statement 'Class of drugs mentioned at entry no. 15 of Schedule K shall not be covered by this Schedule" will be added in Schedule H of the Rule.
"This will remove the ambiguity and simplify the process for sale of such drugs (of selected strengths)," the source said.
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India is the place for large-scale organic production, says Commerce Secretary
Nuremberg (PTI): India is the place for large-scale organic production and the country is keen to collaborate with the EU to strengthen this ecosystem to cater to rising demands, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said here on Tuesday.
Agrawal also said that India's organic products exports have grown threefold over the last 10 years, and the government now aims to triple them again over the next five years.
"India is the place" to serve the world as a good organic food basket, he said, adding that India has 150.3 million hectares of agricultural land under cultivation.
He said that the organic ecosystem is growing very fast in the country, as today, 3 per cent of India's cultivation is organic.
In India, 4.7 million hectares of land is under organic cultivation, with 2.4 million farmers practising it, and it is only increasing by the day, he said.
The Secretary was speaking at the inauguration of Biofach 2026. About 100 exhibitors from 20 Indian states, including Assam, Meghalaya, and Kerala, are here to showcase their organic food products at the world's leading trade fair Biofach show (February 10-13).
He informed that India is emerging as a credible supplier of organic food, both within India and outside.
"I see this happening in a much faster manner. So if world needs the state for organic production, I think India is the place, and we like to work with all of you to see how we can improve the Indian organic food ecosystem to serve both the Indian rising demand within India and also the rising demand in two of our biggest markets," he said.
He called for creating credibility around organic foods. There is a need to ensure trust and credibility around the certification of these products.
India started with the national programme for organic production way back in 2001 and that was designed to adopt the international standards of organic goods.
"And now we are bringing in cooperatives in a big way," he said, adding that cooperatives can bring in and aggregate farmers to create good, viable organic ecosystem in various villages across the country.
