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Jharkhand JDC appeals to PM for urgent reform to combat spurious drugs with advanced QR code system
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
July 16 , 2025
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The joint director-cum-drug controller of Jharkhand, Sumanta Kumar Tiwari, has appealed to the Prime Minister for a significant overhaul of the current regulatory framework to combat the escalating menace of counterfeit medicines in India.
In a letter, Tiwari highlighted the severe health hazards posed by spurious drugs and their detrimental impact on national tax collection.
Tiwari acknowledged the government's previous efforts, such as the mandatory QR/barcode requirement for the top 300 drug brands, as stipulated in the ministry of health and family welfare's Notification No. G.S.R. 823 (E) dated November 17, 2022. However, he stressed that the existing regulations contain critical loopholes that are being exploited by counterfeiters, rendering the current measures largely ineffective. He pointed out the ambiguity surrounding the use of either bar codes or simple QR codes, which are easily replicable, and the allowance for these codes to be placed on secondary packaging, leaving consumers unable to verify authenticity at the point of use.
A major concern raised in the letter is the absence of a mandatory serialization requirement for individual customer-facing units (CUs). Tiwari explained that without a unique serial number on each blister pack, vial, or bottle, it is impossible for buyers to authenticate individual products, making it difficult to detect fake drugs within a batch. He criticized the current system where manufacturers often embed only batch numbers, which offers no real protection against counterfeit products.
Furthermore, the letter highlighted the lack of a robust mechanism for batch recalls, as manufacturers often lose track of products once they leave their C&F agents and move through distributors and retailers to the end-user. Tiwari also expressed frustration over the perceived lack of accountability and action from key governmental bodies despite mounting evidence and repeated complaints regarding the proliferation of fake medicines.
To address these critical shortcomings, the drug controller of Jharkhand state proposed several key modifications to the Drug Procurement Act. He urged that all drugs manufactured, procured, and sold in India be mandated to carry a "Secured Serialized Advanced QR Code" on the Customer Facing Unit. This advanced QR code, he suggested, should be embedded with comprehensive information such as batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates, and manufacturer details, as per CDSCO mandates.
The appeal also emphasized the necessity for each manufacturer to implement a ‘Track and Trace Mechanism’ to facilitate immediate recall of faulty or expired medicines from the market. Additionally, Tiwari called for the launch of a ‘National dedicated Mobile App Scanner,’ accessible to both drug regulators and citizens, to enable quick and easy verification of product authenticity by scanning the advanced QR codes on individual drug units.
Tiwari urged the implementation of ‘Advanced Secured QR-Code Technology’, which he detailed as a seven-layered system powered by Artificial Intelligence tools like Tensor Flow, Agentic, and OpenAI, along with Amazon services. He asserted that these highly sophisticated codes offer multi-layered encryption and unique data interface control, making them exceptionally difficult to copy and highly effective in managing a secure supply chain, unlike simpler QR codes or barcodes.
He concluded by stressing the immense benefits of such a system for customers, government, and suppliers, including guaranteed authenticity, improved supply chain control, enhanced revenue for manufacturers, and real-time data for regulatory bodies. Tiwari believes this cost-effective solution can be implemented through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model with CDSCO, significantly enhancing CDSCO's reputation for innovation and digital transparency in governance.
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TOPICS
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